Saving Fifty Shades
by FSOGFan
Summary: Christian is the way he is because of Elena. Why is Elena the way she is? This story does not revolve around Elena, but Ana meets Elena first and continues to save both of them. Like Bella in Twilight, Ana figures Christian's secret out before he tells her. Some changes to accomodate the story line, but nothing major and NO cheating. Please read:)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: If Christian is the way he is because of abuse and Elena, why is Elena the way she is? What happened to Elena? This story is not about Elena, but Ana meets Elena first and then saves both of them. Different circumstances, different events, but the same couple. Hope you like it.**

**PS: I am still working on Eight months and will update During 8 months soon. This story has already been written up to chapter 9.**

_**Important: I do not own the Fifty Shades Trilogy or the characters. They belong to the very talented E.L. James.**_

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**Ana POV:**

I'm on my way home for the weekend and nervous as hell. When I phoned Ray to ask him for help on my last project for college, I didn't know it would be this difficult to face him afterwards.

Last week we received our final assignment for college. It's a fifteen page assignment on severe human behaviour. Almost everyone in my class is going for something like abuse or religion, but not Anastasia Steele. No, I just had to go for something sexual. Funny really, that a twenty two year old virgin decided on a sexual assignment for class. When I decided I wanted to write about BDSM and why people get involved in it, I thought it would be fun. Professor Blade made us submit our subject in advance in order to get us to stick to a decision, no matter how difficult we found it to be. When he saw mine, he raised an eyebrow and told me 'Good Luck, Ana. People in this lifestyle do a lot of things, but talking about it is not one of them. If you can find even one person willing to talk to you about it, you would be extremely lucky.' I left class with a vision of my chance to finish my degree with honours slipping away from me.

That's when I decided to call my dad. Yes, I know. What kind of daughter calls her dad with something like this? But in his business, he knows a lot about a lot of people and I thought that maybe, just maybe he knew someone that will be willing to talk to me. He started Steele Security in Seattle when I started college because it would give me a better chance at finding a job in a big city. I could've just moved there on my own after I finish my degree, but my dad rejected that idea before I even completed my sentence.

When he discovered that he could not control his errant daughter, he went for the next best thing… controlling her environment and basically all things around her. Now don't get me wrong, I absolutely adore my dad and love him unconditionally, but his need to protect me sometimes drives me insane. It was bad growing up and escalated drastically when he started the security company. He opened it initially to provide private and corporate security, but he expanded it a year ago to include private investigating as well. With his background and contacts, it was the perfect decision and he is doing much better than he ever hoped for.

I wanted to get a part time job to save for a car and, safe to say that I returned for college at the end of the weekend with a brand new Audi A4. Best in class and Ray was impressed with the safety rating. That was the end of my dreams of a part time job to earn my own money. Just another way that my loving father is controlling me… by watching my credit card transactions for any behaviour that could indicate alcohol or drug abuse.

Ray phoned yesterday and said that he made a deal with one of his clients, Elena Lincoln, to talk to me. I honestly did not think that he would help me with this, being Raymond Steele and all, but he did and now I don't know how to face him.

I get to Seattle later than expected and is relieved to know that Ray is still at some charity event to ensure his staff is doing their jobs. Did I mention that my dad is ultra controlling? Deciding to thank my lucky stars, I go directly to bed and fall into a dreamless sleep, excited to meet Mrs. Lincoln in the morning.

"Morning daddy. Have you lost weight?" I try to get a conversation going to get rid of this nervous tension that took hold of my body at the mere sight of him. Embarrassed are a more accurate description and I want to avoid discussing my reason for meeting Mrs. Lincoln at all cost. I do not want to discuss anything sexual with my dad face to face.

"Hey, Annie. Not recently, but thank you for trying to distract me. I was actually sitting here waiting for you." He answers and this cannot be good.

"Oh, to have breakfast?" I ask casually, but I know better. I start on our regular pancake with bacon breakfast anyway to keep myself busy. Ray's housekeeper only works three days a week and does not come in on weekends at all.

"Annie, distraction is not one of your specialities, but I admire the effort. I want to ask you why. Of all the topics you could have chosen to write about, why did you choose something so…. so… sexual? Honestly, there are many other forms of severe human behaviour to choose from. Couldn't you have asked me to rather help you choose a more appropriate topic?" He gets quiet and I turn around to see him look close to vomiting, "Please tell me it's not something you are… interested in." He finishes and I just laugh. I'm not even thinking about losing my virginity yet, so the thought that I want someone to dominate me in bed is just hilarious.

"_Oh hell no_. But dad, it is something that is becoming more popular as time goes by. I want to be able to handle anything that comes my way when I finally become a Social Worker and in order to help people, I have to know what the hell I'm talking about. I've written about most of the other possibilities over the years, so I thought that this was the obvious choice for this project as I know nothing about it. I'm sorry if it makes you uncomfortable." I say as I dish up our breakfast. Some colour has returned to Ray's face so he would probably enjoy his breakfast, which we eat in silence.

When I finish with the dishes, I'm acutely aware of the time and also of the fact that Ray insisted to drop me off at Esclava, the exclusive chain of salons that Mrs. Lincoln owns and where we will be having our first meeting. She don't have a lot of time available for me today, so Ray arranged another appointment for me with her for next week Saturday, which will be my last weekend I come to Seattle for a visit before I move here permanently. He takes the time to tell me that Elena Lincoln is not a nice person and that if she treats me badly, I must tell him and he will look for someone else to help me.

Outside of the salon, I look at Ray with pleading eyes, begging him to let me go in alone, but he ignores it. As it's the look that gets me anything I want, not that I ask for much anyway, he must be really worried about this meeting, so I relent and walk in when he holds the door open for me. We are greeted by a very friendly red head that introduce herself as Bonnie.

"Bonnie, I'm Raymond Steele and we have an appointment with Mrs. Lincoln. Can we go through?" Ray asks sounding irritated and I give his arm a light squeeze to get him to calm down.

"Mrs. Lincoln is expecting you Mr. Steele. You can go straight through to the back." Bonnie answers and point in the direction which I assume is Elena's office.

Outside the office, I'm told to wait and Ray enters alone. When the door doesn't close properly, I get closer to hear why he needs to talk to her alone.

"Raymond, it's so good to see you again. Where is Anastasia?" I hear an over friendly voice that I assume is Elena Lincoln.

"She's right outside Elena. I wanted to come in to remind you of our discussion during the week. You are to provide her with information for her paper on BDSM, but I feel that I need to warn you one last time. If you try to involve my daughter in any way, any way at all, in your lifestyle, you will get nothing. I will destroy all information I have and you will never know where the man is that you've spent years trying to locate. I'm not joking, Elena. I need you to know that if she is even approached to join your world, I will destroy everything. I leave her in your care for the next two hours and again next Saturday and the only thing I need from you is to provide her with information on the lifestyle… nothing more. Do I make myself clear?" Damn, I'm glad I don't have to see the look that is probably on his face. Serious Ray even gets me to behave and I'm probably the most insubordinate person that ever walked the earth.

"Raymond, there's no need for the dramatics. You've expressed your wishes and I will honour our agreement. I'm fully aware of how protective you are about your daughter and I promise that she will be in no way approached by me or any of my… acquaintances to join our lifestyle. Just remember your part of the agreement. The day she submits her paper is the day you give me everything you have on him… down to the last photo." I hear her voice and damn, she's good. She's not even fazed by his tone. Something tells me that whatever Ray uncovered is very important to her.

When I hear footsteps, I walk away and act startled when my name is called. I walk into the office and Ray introduces me to Elena Lincoln. When she gets a good look at me, she looks shocked for a moment before putting back her impeccable, emotionless mask.

"Mrs. Lincoln, I would like to thank you for assisting me with my project. I'm still shocked that my dad found someone willing to talk with me about BDSM after I've been told that the task could prove impossible." I say sincerely even though I'm aware of why she is helping me. I'm actually pissed with Ray that he resorted to this in order to help me, but also relieved that she will talk with me nonetheless.

"Anastasia, please call me Elena. It will be easier to have this discussion without the formality." She says and Ray excuse himself to go to his office three blocks down the street. I want to go shopping when I'm done here and told him that I would just take a cab home when I'm done.

Elena Lincoln may be in her late forties, but she looks amazing. The only bad features I could find are her cold eyes and clothes that are maybe a size too small. Apart from that, she is impeccably groomed and one can clearly see that she takes her personal appearance very seriously. When she looks me up and down again, I start to follow her gaze to see what may be wrong. I'm dressed in a tight fitting black jean, black heels and a blue shirt that match my eyes. I ensured that my hairs was frizz free and falling nicely down my shoulders and even applied light make up. Finding nothing out of place with my appearance, I look back at her.

"Elena, is something wrong with the way I look? I can't help but notice that you looked shocked when I came in as well." I ask and she seems surprised that I took notice of it. "I'm good at reading people and that's one of the reasons why I decided to become a social worker and help people." I explain and her face is once again void of any emotion.

"Oh no, Ana. In fact, I can't find anything wrong. Your clothes are obviously carefully selected, your hair is in a great condition and your light make up don't hide the fact that you have a natural beauty that most girls dream about. Down to the colour of your beautiful blue eyes, you are perfect." She says with honesty and I blush with the compliment. I don't like to draw attention to myself, but I do like to look presentable at all times. "A damn shame." I hear her say and because I'm sure I was supposed to hear it, I ignore it and we get down to business.

"What would you like your paper to be about, Ana? The topic of BDSM is pretty big. Did you think about what direction you would like to take with your paper?" Elena asks and I start to relax.

"I'm not quite sure yet, but I definitely want to include the reason why people get involved in the lifestyle. I'm not particularly interested in the… sexual side of it and would not feel comfortable to write about that." I'm sure I'm as red as a tomato.

"Ana, the reason for getting involved is different for almost every single person. But first, can I ask why you would want to write about this or even learn more?"

"Severe human behaviour intrigues me, actually, any human behaviour that deviates from the norm seems interesting to me. I decided to become a Social Worker to help people and in order to do that I need to know what I'm talking about. With the popularity of BDSM growing, even though it's still pretty much like a secret society, I'm sure that I will come across it at some point. I'm also interested to know what a person think is lacking in their lives to resort to something like BDSM and escape reality." The last part is out before I could stop it and I curse myself for my brain-to-mouth filter that seems to be out of order at the worst possible times.

Elena seems upset and I feel as if I insulted her. I know she is in the lifestyle and I basically just told her that I think it's because her life is lacking… great! The one person willing to talk to me, and I insult her in the first forty minutes.

"Elena, I'm so sorry if I offended you. I didn't mean that…" I start to ramble but she holds a perfectly manicured hand in the air for me to stop.

"Ana, please. It will take more than that to offend me. I would however ask you to hold your judgement until we finish our meetings as you don't know yet what BDSM is about… apart from what you probably learned from Google. I can assure you, my dear, my life is certainly not lacking in any way." She tells me. There is definitely a story behind that perfect mask and I'm finding myself interested to get behind it, to break through the walls around her and understand this woman better.

"I still apologize for offending you. I did some research on BDSM, but apart from implements, which I'm definitely not interested about, I could not really find much or maybe just don't know where to search or what to search for." That gets me a genuine smile and she looks beautiful with a smile that reaches her eyes… I'm tempted to tell her to do it more often, but luckily my filter kicks in and I bite my tongue.

"Apology accepted so let's continue. As you might know there is a dominant and a submissive person in all BDSM relationships. The dominant like to exercise control over the submissive. For this explanation we would assume that the dominant is male and the submissive is female as that is the most common BDSM relationship. He feels in control and powerful to have a woman submit to him. During sessions or scenes, he is in control of her body, her pleasure and her pain. The limits are discussed in advance and agreed upon. He will not do anything that she is not able or willing to endure. Most dominants give their submissives rules to follow like when to be available, what to dress like, what is not acceptable for him and in some cases even what to eat and when to exercise." She stops and I suppose it is due to the look on my face. She puts her hand on mine while I just gape at her.

"Why would any woman want that? There is no way in hell I would let anyone tell me what to eat. Granted, I'm terrible at following rules that I don't get an opinion in, but damn, that just seems like a horrible arrangement. What happens when a rule is broken?" I ask, even though I saw the torture chamber implements.

"Anastasia, this lifestyle is not for everyone. You will have a better understanding of it all by the time we are done. To answer your question… if a rule is broken, the submissive is punished. There are several forms of punishment and it is also determined in advance. There are soft limits, things that one of the parties is apprehensive about, and hard limits, things that one of the parties will absolutely not do or allow. The limits are not only used to list punishments, but most of the things that gets listed there normally relates to punishment in one way or the other. The lightest form of punishment is spanking and the most severe is being beaten with a cane. The dominant chooses the form of punishment that he thinks is best suited for the transgression." I must have that look again, because her eyes soften, as well as her tone. "Ana, don't look so shocked. I told you, it's not for everyone and some woman crave the pain which is why they are in the lifestyle to begin with."

"So what is in it for the submissive? The relationship seems far from equal to me?" Downright unfair balance of power if you ask me.

"Again, a submissive is in it for several reasons. It can be that they have a stressful job and like the freedom that comes with a BDSM scene. They don't have to make any choices, no decisions and get to experience pleasure beyond their wildest dreams. That is what it is mainly about, sexual experimentation and pleasure. Normal vanilla sex can't possibly be as fulfilling and pleasurable as a BDSM scene. Some submissives also crave the pain as I said earlier. There are some that is actually just in it for the pain and don't get sexual with the dominant at all. It's rare, but there are cases like that. People use different forms of coping mechanisms to survive everyday life, Ana. Some use control, some pain, some escape in the ecstasy of pleasure and some likes to be bound."

We take a break for tea and I tell her about my mother and how I became a Steele and how I grew up. She is shocked that my mother would choose another man over Ray Steele and I tend to agree. Ray is attractive, well taken care of and likes to take care of the people in his life… apart from being a wonderful father. She seems to understand when I tell her that my mother, Carla, is on her forth marriage. We talk about my need to help people in need. Elena in turn tells me that she is divorced, don't have many close friends and no children. Apart from a handful of friends, she chose to spend as much time at the salons as possible. She has a silent partner, but he is not involved at all. Not surprisingly, she doesn't have a boyfriend. She is also not shy about the fact that she is a Dominant. I guess not many men would put up with being beaten by their girlfriends during sex. But I ask why anyway, just to see what her reaction is.

"Love is for fools, Anastasia. I know it sounds harsh and all girls dream about meeting their 'Prince Charming', but it's better to learn it early in life and spare yourself a lot of heartache. I learned that the hard way and I won't lie to anyone. It's better to have never loved at all, than to have loved and get your heart shattered." Her voice is harsh, but what gets to me is the hurt visible in her eyes for a second when her mask slips again. She was hurt and I really want to help her, but she thinks her life is not lacking so who am I do disagree. Whatever happened must have been really bad for her to still feel that hurt after all this time.

"Maybe, I'm not really the best person to comment on that subject either." I tell her and it's true. I've never been in love and have never been on more than two dates with the same guy.

"Let me guess… never been in love and waiting for Mr. Right?" I can't help but smile shyly.

"Almost. I'm not exactly waiting for Mr. Right, I just haven't found anyone yet that I want to spend a lot of time with."

"Anastasia, let me give you another lesson for today. There is no Mr. Right. There is a Mr. Right Now, but no Mr. Right and no Prince Charming. No matter how perfect a guy is, he will break your heart in the end." Her voice and eyes soften again and she continues in a gentle voice, "This is the longest conversation I've ever had with anyone apart from Grace and Christian. I like you and I can tell you honestly, I don't like a lot of people. You come across as shy, naïve and innocent, but you are definitely strong, confident and sure of what you want in life. It's rare to find a person with all those qualities, but here you are. And beautiful too." I can tell that she is truly sincere and I feel sorry for her. I have Ray, Kate, Jose, Jackson, Maya and several other people in my life, but she seems to have less than a handful she can confide in. It must be pretty lonely.

"I like you too, Elena. You're not afraid to speak your mind. I do think that you have limited people in your life because you don't or can't open up to people. I can see in your eyes that you've been hurt pretty badly before and I think that whatever happened to you drove you to BDSM. No feelings, no romantic involvement, no commitment and therefore no fear of getting hurt. I can see I struck a nerve and I would just like to say that I will give you my number before I leave. You don't have to feel obligated to use it, but if you ever just need to talk or grab some lunch, I will be there for you. I'm told I'm a good listener and I always try my best not to judge… even though my brain-to-mouth filter sometimes seems to be out of order." I joke to lighten the mood and I'm relieved when she actually laughs. She really should do that more often. It changes her look completely from Ice Queen to Beauty Queen. Before we get to discuss anything more, there is a knock on the door and it opens before Elena even gets up from her chair.

**Christian POV:**

Frustrated and pissed is how I would describe my mood as I go over to see Elena personally. It's been months since I ended the contract with Susannah and I told her two weeks ago already that I'm ready for a new sub. She has never taken this long to deliver and I want to know what the hell the problem is. Surely there is no shortage of petite brunettes in Seattle and if there is one that I'm not aware of, she should just look elsewhere. I simply cannot go on for much longer without some sexual relieve and anything other than a contracted sub is simply out of the question.

When I get to Esclava I'm told by Bonnie that Elena is not available at the moment, but shouldn't be much longer. After I give her a death glare, I simply stroll past her to Elena's office. I'm an owner as well and nobody is going to tell Christian Grey that they are not available… especially not in the mood I'm in currently. Not even dismissing an executive yesterday made me feel better and going on like this is not even a possibility.

I'm stopped however when I hear a woman's voice inside that I've never heard before. It sounds like music to my ears and I have to slap myself mentally. Obviously I'm on the verge of losing my fucking mind without a way to relieve my stress and take control. With at least a courtesy knock on the door, I simply walk in. I don't feel like I'm in control of anything right now, but I will never let anyone see it… not even Elena and some stranger. I begin talking immediately to let her visitor know that she has been dismissed.

"Elena, it's been two weeks. What the fuck could be taking this long?" I ask and Elena jumps up and looks like she has been caught doing something she shouldn't have.

"Christian, dear. This is an unexpected surprise." She touches my arm and lean in for a kiss on the cheek.

"Elena…" Surprising, she cuts me off and point towards the lady in her office.

"Christian, I'm unfortunately in the middle of something and would love to discuss this with you later. I could stop by Escala on my way home." I look at her… utterly shocked. What the fuck is this? Piss of Christian Grey day?

My mood improves however when I turn to look into the most beautiful blue eyes. I let my eyes flow longingly down her body and she will do just fine. In fact, she is just perfect. Brunette, petite and stunningly beautiful. Elena must be busy with an interview for my new sub and I feel as if a weight is lifted from my shoulders… or at least it will be soon.

"Elena, aren't you going to introduce me?" I ask and am again shocked by the look on Elena's face. She looks reluctant to introduce me to my next sub and my suspicion is confirmed when she finally introduces us.

"Christian, this is Anastasia Steele. Anastasia, this is my business partner, Christian Grey." I frown. Not her friend. Not a dominant looking for a submissive. Her business partner? She has never introduced me as her business partner. In fact, Elena loves to make sure people know she is friends with me and my family. She's definitely up to something.

"Ms. Steele, nice to meet you." I say absentmindedly, but when her small hand touches mine, I'm brought back to the present by the electricity that I feel at the contact. In that brief moment, I can picture her in my playroom while I have my wicked way with her delectable body. I blink and pull my hand back. When my eyes meet hers, I know she felt it too and when I glance at Elena, she almost looks… afraid? "Ms. Steele, please would you excuse us? I won't be long." I say, but don't look at her. I'm trying my best here to control my urge to drag her to my playroom and fuck her senseless and if I look into her eyes now, I'm a goner.

"Take your time. I'll be in front with Bonnie." She replies and walks out of the room. The moment the door closes, I pounce.

"Tell me, Elena. Why do I get the feeling that you were trying to hide Ms. Steele from me? Then you introduced me, clearly reluctantly I might add, as your business partner? What the hell is going on here?" She sits down, but her face shows no emotion.

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**A/N: I will update again very soon. I just want to see the response to this story to see if anyone will even read it.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: If Christian is the way he is because of abuse and Elena, why is Elena the way she is? What happened to Elena? This story is not about Elena, but Ana meets Elena first and then saves both of them. Different circumstances, different events, but the same couple. Hope you like it.**

**Thank you for the response so far. You are all amazing.**

_**Important: I do not own the Fifty Shades Trilogy or the characters. They belong to the very talented E.L. James.**_

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**Christian POV: **

"Christian, I'm not hiding anyone from you. I only met Anastasia personally today and…" I hold up my hand to silence her.

"So she is a new sub and you were having an interview to determine if she is a good fit? Perfect! Let me safe you some time… she's perfect and I want her. Get her medical results and arrange a formal meeting to discuss her contract… and soon, Elena." Today would be perfect, but that is impossible if Elena only met her today so I will have to work out with Bastille more until next Friday. The hard on Ms. Steele has given me a moment ago is beginning to get painful as my imagination runs away from me and I sit down to try and get it under control before I leave here.

"Christian, you don't understand. Anastasia is not available to you. In fact, I can stress enough just how unavailable she is. There is just no way you will get Anastasia. She is not…" Yes, definitely piss off Christian Grey day today. I can hear what she is telling me, but my brain is refusing to understand what Elena is telling me. No one is unavailable to me and Elena knows better than anyone that I get what I want. Right now, I want Ms. Steele.

"Elena, I want her. No buts, no excuses… make it happen." I get up to leave, but she stops me with a hand on my arm.

"Christian, please. She is not a sub, not even close. I will find you a sub, just not Ana. Please let it go." She is practically begging. Elena does not do humble and does not beg or plead.

"Elena, you met this girl today. Don't tell me you developed a soft spot for her in such a short time?" I ask and she looks down. _Oh fuck me!_ That's it? Elena is trying to protect this girl. "I'm not going to do anything to her she does not want, Elena. You know me better than that. I have _consensual_ relationships that are built on_ trust_. I'm not an abuser. What are you trying to protect her from and since when do you have a soft spot for anyone?" She looks up, that damn mask back in place, not that I'm one to point fingers.

"I won't lie to you, Christian. I like her. Strange, I know and don't ask me why because that I don't know. But I honestly like this girl and Christian, she is not a sub. I'm not trying to protect her from you, but I can't have anyone try to involve this girl in BDSM. I will find you a girl, in fact, I might have the perfect one, but she's not Anastasia." Again she is telling me that I can't get what I want and she should really know better after all these years. She has just spiked my interest in this girl by her words and her reaction to my questions. If this petite girl can affect Elena Lincoln in one morning, I would like to know how she did it. Elena does not allow anyone to get too close to her, not even me.

"Thank you, Elena. Another sub won't be necessary at the moment. Enjoy the rest of your day. I'll see you on Thursday at lunch… unless something comes up." I tell her and kiss her on the cheek. Before I touch the door handle, realisation of what just happened dawned on her and I try hard not to smile.

"Christian Grey, I know you. Don't do this. You will have to take another girl. Anastasia Steele is off limits." She says with authority in her tone, but I simply shrug without looking back at her.

"We'll see, Elena, we'll see." I say as I leave her office.

When I get to the reception desk, Ms. Steele is leaning over it to look at something on Bonnie's computer screen. I slow down, enjoying the view way too much to let it be over too soon. She has the perfect ass and it would fit my hand perfectly. I can feel Taylor looking at me and can see him stand up in the corner of my eye, but my eyes are locked on the ass of Ms. Steele.

As I reach the front of the salon, Bonnie looks over Ms. Steele and gets up, making Ms. Steele get up too and turn around… no disappointment though, the front is even better. Even her tits will fit my hands perfectly. She is biting her bottom lip and I'm sure she doesn't even realise how seductive she looks at the moment. I would like to get that bottom lip between my teeth. This girl is perfect. I don't know what Elena's problem is, but I don't care.

"Mr. Grey, enjoy the rest of your day." This girl will just not learn that she is not my type, so I ignore her.

"Ms. Steele, so nice to meet you. I hope I'll get to see you again soon." I take her hand to in mine and there it is again. If this is from touching her hand, I can just imagine touching what touching the rest of her would be like.

"It was nice to meet you too, Christian. I doubt that we would run into each other again soon as I currently live in Portland and will only be moving here in two weeks." Disappointment… not a feeling that I'm really accustomed to and one I don't plan on getting used to.

"I see. And are you already planning to get your beauty treatments here?" I point to the screen and notice that the calendar is open for next week Saturday.

"Oh, I'm planning on going out next week Saturday… for my final project for college and well… any girl likes to look her best when she is going out." I actually feel relieved knowing that she will be in town next weekend again, but don't ask where she will be going. Esclava systems are linked with GEH, like all my other business interests. As soon as her appointment is confirmed, her number will be included and I can get Welch to get the information and track her phone whenever I need to get to her in order to try and convince her to enter into a contract with me. We will be so good together, I just know it.

"Well, I hope you enjoy your night out, even if it is for a project." I lean closer to her and whisper into her ear, "You don't need beauty treatments however, you are perfect the way you are." I see her shiver and at least confirmed that she is not as unaffected by me as she seems to be… which was my aim. Flirting is definitely not my thing, but Elena set a silent challenge and I wouldn't be Christian Grey if I didn't accept. She should really know better… I never loose.

"Enjoy the rest of your day, ladies." I say and walk to the door.

"Bye Christian. Bye Jason. It was really nice meeting you both. I hope you have a pleasant weekend." I force a smile on my face and walk out. How the hell does she know Taylor? She is way too young to be one of his previous conquests and even though I want her, I'm not too sure about taking on someone he's been intimate with.

"Taylor, how do you know Ms. Steele?" I ask as soon as I get into the back of the SUV with him in front.

"I actually don't know her personally Sir, I know her father. We served together. It was just as I joined and just before he left. Best marine I've ever come across. She recognised me from a photo he has of the time we served together and asked me if my name is Jason Taylor. I said yes and she explained why she asked and how she knew. That was the end of our conversation until we left." I don't think I've ever heard he say that much in one go. Does he want her too?

I decide that it may be best if I get Welch to handle this little project for me discretely.

"Her father is Raymond Steele of Steele Security. He is a ruthless private investigator and fanatical about security, especially all things involving his only daughter." He says after a couple of minutes. When I frown, he looks into the rear-view mirror at me. "Just letting you know, Sir."

"Duly noted, Taylor." Is my only response as not even that will get me to back down. I don't know why she is affecting me like this. It might be Elena's reluctance to introduce us, her eyes, her body, her hair, her ass, her voice or Elena's refusal to simply give her to me. It might be a little of all of it, but whatever is… I want her and come what may… I will have her.

The minute I get into my study, I phone Welch who answers immediately.

"Mr. Grey?"

"Welch, I have something you need to do for me, but under no circumstances can you discuss it with anyone… not even Taylor. Whatever you find, you give directly to me and keep your mouth shut. Make sure no one can trace that you've been looking into this for me." This is not the first sensitive thing he has handled for me, but it is the first time I tell him to keep all information from Taylor.

"Sure, Mr. Grey. What do you need?"

"I need anything and everything on Ms. Anastasia Steele. I know her father is Raymond Steele and he has a security company called Steele Security. When I say everything, I mean everything Welch. Who her friends are, what she is studying, everything. How soon can you get it to me?" I need it as soon as possible to plan my pursuit of this lovely creature.

"I should have everything for you by Tuesday at the latest, Sir." He answers and even though I'm not pleased with the delay, I prefer a thorough job.

"To me_ personally _Welch. I will wait at Grey House until you are ready to give it to me. Oh, and Welch, I want you to find out everything you can about me. Look at the common sources used by private investigators and if you find anything that should not be found, get rid of it. I know you screen my name often, but it is important that nothing is missed." I end the call and think back to the beautiful Ms. Steele. There is no way I'm not having her. With the spark I felt between us, I just know that we will be absolutely fantastic together. Even though she looks a bit innocent, I'm more than willing to bring out her sexuality.

**Ana POV:**

I wake up Sunday morning and where I normally sleep peacefully, my dreams were filled with intense gray eyes looking back at me. I have never been affected by a man, but there is something about Christian Grey that just seems to get to me. No doubt, he is by far the sexiest man I have ever met, but it's more than that. He is confident and strong. Much like Elena, he seems to wear a mask to hide behind, but then again, most of us do. When our hands touched I felt a connection that I've never experienced before. It's like electricity. It's not that I'm interested in him, but I wouldn't mind seeing him again. He doesn't seem like part owner in a salon though.

And that voice_… holy cow_, that voice is just… wow. He has the most beautiful voice. When he bend down to whisper into my ears I almost died, but refused to let anyone see how much he affected me. I can imagine that strong hands pulling me to his obviously well toned body and it causes me to feel things I've never felt before. It may be safer to push Christian Grey out of my mind and rather take a shower instead.

Ray is sitting in the living room watching something on TV, but whatever he was watching seems to be finished as a music video is starting and I sit down next to him.

"Morning daddy. How did you sleep?" I ask with a quick kiss to his cheek.

"Not well. I seem to be worried about my daughter that has this new ridiculous idea in her head." He looks to me and smile, "Don't worry, Annie. I'll make it work, but you will have to promise to be very, very careful and get out of there the minute someone bothers you. You will also have security with you and you are not to try and give them the slip."

"I promise. What do you want for breakfast?" I ask as my eyes go to the TV. There's a song on with Pitbull. He is dressed in a black suit as usual and just looks so sexy with his sunglasses. My mind immediately goes back to Christian Grey and I shake my head. Will everything I see from now remind me of him?

After breakfast, I leave for Portland, determined to forget all about Christian Grey. I turn up the music in an effort to drown my thoughts and smile when it seems to be working. The trip back is uneventful and when I arrive home, I'm greeted by a crying Kate. What the hell happened? She never cries.

"Kate, honey, what happened?" I ask gently as I stroke her head with her face buried in her pillow.

"The bastard was cheating on me… _for weeks!_ How did I not see it? How could I be so damn blind?" She says in the short time that she lifts her head out of the pillow.

Elena's words come back to me at this moment.

"_Love is for fools, Anastasia. I know it sounds harsh and all girls dream about meeting their 'Prince Charming', but it's better to learn it early in life and spare yourself a lot of heartache. I learned the hard way and I won't lie to anyone. It's better to have never loved at all, than to have loved and get your heart shattered."_

Looking at Kate like this, I can see where she is coming from, but surely there is more than heartache out there.

"Kate, if he was cheating on you it's better that you found out now instead of much later. You know what they say, 'Once a cheater, always a cheater.' Forget about him." She turns on her side and since she doesn't have any make up on, I assume she has been crying for a while and my heart feels her pain. "Oh Kate, I'm so sorry you're hurting. If I could take it away, I would. Do you need anything?"

"No. Tell me about your weekend instead. I could use the distraction." She sits up and cleans her face with a tissue before smiling at me. "I still don't understand why you of all people would choose such an erotic, sexual topic."

"Obviously I'm not writing about the sexual aspect of it. But my weekend was not too bad. Elena Lincoln, the lady my dad got to talk to me, gave me the creeps at first, but I actually like her. She has this look when she lets her mask slip that makes you want to hug her until she feels better. I know there is a story there, but when I said something stupid, she told me her life was perfect. But I could see the hurt and when we had a casual chat during a break, she told me that love was for fools and it just causes heartbreak. That there is no Prince Charming and no Mr. Right. The look in her eyes was so sad even though her tone was harsh."

"Sounds like a smart woman to me. I should have met her before I fell for Dickhead Johnson." She falls back on her pillow and probably in an effort to stop herself from crying, she looks at me again, "What did you say anyway that was so stupid?"

"I basically said that people that get involved in BDSM does so because their life is lacking." She sits up again with wide eyes.

"Oh my gosh, Steele. You said that to someone who you know is in that lifestyle?"

"It kind of slipped out before I could think about it, but yes." All this talk about Elena is making me think of her business partner and I can't tell Kate about him. She'll probably track the poor guy down and plan our wedding.

"My last exam is on Wednesday. Yours is on Thursday, right?" she asks.

"Yes, Thursday morning. Why?"

"Because we are going out to celebrate. No more studying, no more books and no more worries… apart from me worrying about you handing in this paper. When is it due?"

"A week from tomorrow. I have another meeting with Elena next Saturday." I leave the rest of my plans out as she will be worse than Ray and insist on going with. I want to do this on my own and she won't understand.

As Kate is feeling fragile, we change into our pyjamas and watch chick flicks all day. Our lunch, and then dinner, is pizza as it is the nearest place that delivers. That, and of course ice cream… directly out of the tub. I've never seen Kate this depressed before, but then again, she is normally the one that breaks off the relationship.

"She's not even as pretty as I am. Makes you think… what is wrong with me?" she whispers just before she falls asleep.

The rest of the week goes by in a blur. Betweens studying and comforting Kate, I'm very busy. I also started on my paper with the information I have so far, but I don't have enough yet to make an informed opinion as to why people do get into BDSM.

My mind constantly goes to Christian Grey and my dreams are filled with visions of him. I still haven't told Kate and she is starting to notice that I'm more distracted than normal. Blaming it on the paper I have to submit soon is a good excuse, but what will I tell her after it has been submitted. The only solution is to try and get him out of my head before then, but how do I keep him out of my dreams?

When I get home on Thursday afternoon, the house is a mess with clothes everywhere. Kate and Maya are obviously starting to get ready for tonight.

"Ana, I already chose your dress and shoes. Get in the shower and hurry up. We are going for dinner first and then dancing." I put down my keys and purse and decide that it's better to just go along with Kate. Maybe she is finally feeling better and is ready to move on again.

When I get out of the shower, I see the dress Kate picked out for me. It's a black mini dress with four inch black high heels. There is no way in hell I'm getting into that. Seriously, I'm all for looking presentable, but that is _way_ over the top.

"Kate, could you come in here for a second please?" I call out and Kate comes into the room dressed in a glittery green mini dress herself that matches her eyes. She looks stunning with gold high heels.

"Ana, you're not dressed yet?" she squeals as if I committed an unforgivable offense.

"There is no way I'm getting in that outfit, Kate." I say pointing to the outfit on the bed.

"Oh come on. You will look stunning. We have something to celebrate, Ana. Just go with it."

"I'll be ready soon." I say defeated and she leaves to let me get dressed. I decide to apply a little more make up as normally, but still not as much as Kate and Maya. I look at myself in the mirror and hardly recognise myself. I look nice. I grab my cell phone and purse and stuff it into a clutch on my way out.

When I enter the living room, everyone is already waiting. Jose and Jackson look pretty handsome themselves, but Jackson only has eyes for Maya. When will these two just admit their feelings and see where this thing between them can go?

"Wow… Ana, you look… stunning. We will spend the majority of the night fighting guys off you." Jose says as he pumps Jackson in the ribs.

"Yes… yes… stunning." Jackson says with eyes still locked on Maya and Jose shakes his head. "Okay, let's go. This room is getting a bit hot at the moment."

Dinner is pleasant. It will be strange in Seattle when we all have jobs and lives separate from each other. I hope we will still have time to spend with each other like this… this is…

"Ms. Steele, what a pleasant surprise. It's nice seeing you again." I look up to see everyone staring at the voice coming from my right and that confirms my initial thought… Christian Grey. I heard his voice enough in my dreams the last couple days to know it anywhere. I turn slowly to come face to face with those gray, smouldering, intense eyes.

"Mr. Grey. This is a… surprise. What are you doing here?" Okay, that came out harsher than needed and when Kate hits me with her elbow in the ribs, I guess that everyone could tell.

"My brother, Elliot, had some business in Portland and invited me to join him. I had no idea I would be seeing you here." He points to Elliot and I hear Kate gasp. She pulls me closer and whispers in my ear.

"Ana, if you value our friendship at all, you will invite those two drop dead gorgeous creatures to join us. Now!" Geez, okay. Kate is definitely over her breakup with Dickhead Johnson, as she calls him. I turn back to Christian and his brother.

"Why don't you join us? We were just about to order some champagne." Kate and I move up to make space for them, but Jose and Jackson don't move. They don't look happy at all. I introduce Christian and Elliot to the rest and Elliot shakes Kate's hand slightly longer than the rest of us. It's a pity I don't get to introduce myself to Christian again; I would like to touch his hand and see if that spark is still there.

"Thank you, I think we will take you up on that offer. What are you celebrating?" He asks and my heart rate starts to increase at his close proximity. It takes me a second to remember what he asked, but before I could answer, Kate helps me out.

"We are officially finished with our exams. Apart from Ana handing in her paper on Monday, there is nothing left to be done." She says with eyes fixed on Elliot.

Christian sat down first… right next to me. His scent is simply intoxicating and I'm struggling to keep up with the conversation. Everyone is telling Christian and Elliot about their upcoming plans for Seattle, but I'm silently enjoying sitting next to him. My entire body is aware of his presence and I fell it in places that I should not be.

"_Oh my god. Oh my god. _It just hit me. You are _Christian Grey_." Kate points to Christian and we all look at her. She is definitely over hear heartbreak, but right into crazy.

"Kate, are you okay? You already know his name is Christian Grey." I tell her while giving her the evil eye. What the hell is wrong with her?

"You have to excuse, Ana. She refuses to read newspapers or watch the news." She says to Christian and Elliot who both looks amused before she turns to me. "Ana, this is Christian Grey, of Grey Enterprise Holdings." She says as she looks expectantly at me… like I'm missing something.

"Well, good for him." I say and hear Elliot trying to hide his laugh behind a cough. I'm starting to feel uncomfortable with everyone looking at me like I'm from Mars.

"Ana, why don't you read the papers or watch the news?" Elliot asks after he has composed himself. I can feel Christian's stare on me and shift slightly in my seat.

"Newspapers are filled with things that already happened, which is pointless as nothing can be changed about it. They also turn tragedies into something sensational for the pure purpose of selling papers. Apart from that, there is sport, which I have no interest in and the financial pages. That's for businessmen and clearly I'm not one." I answer his question.

"There is also the weather prediction, Ana." Maya says.

"Yes… well… why spoil the surprise?" I say and it actually gets a giggle from Christian. Much like Elena, it changes his entire appearance and makes him even more handsome, if that was at all possible.

"Fair point well made, Anastasia." He says in that voice that fills my dreams. Everyone calls me Ana, but for some reason Christian insists on calling me Anastasia.

When we are done, Christian insists on paying the bill and we get up to leave for the club. When I get up, his eyes focus on me and his thoughtful look is quickly replaced with anger. When Kate comes to stand next to me, the lustful look in Elliot's eyes are replaced with anger as well. What the hell is up with these two?

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**A/N: Please let me know what you think.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: If Christian is the way he is because of abuse and Elena, why is Elena the way she is? What happened to Elena? This story is not about Elena, but Ana meets Elena first and then saves both of them. Different circumstances, different events, but the same couple. Hope you like it.**

**Please, please let me know what you think and what you would like to read about in this story.**

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_**Important: I do not own the Fifty Shades Trilogy or the characters. They belong to the very talented E.L. James.**_

**Christian POV:**

The rest of the weekend and Monday I submerge myself in work in an effort to try and get the girl out of my head. She is consuming my every thought and that is totally new to me. By Tuesday I'm ready to crawl out of my skin, but since I will be getting the information that I need on the girl plaguing my dreams, I behave myself. Okay, as best as I'm capable off.

When it's time for a lunch meeting, I go downstairs and get immediately irritated when we are stopped just outside Grey House.

"Jason Taylor. Just the man I was looking for." I hear a strong voice and turn to see a man walking up to us. He is big built, military haircut like Taylor and impeccably dressed. I was just about to be rude and tell Taylor that we are late, when I heard his response.

"Ray, nice to see you again. What can I help you with?" Jason asks and I try to stand closer without drawing attention to myself. If this is who I think, I want to hear why he needs Taylor's help.

"Please excuse me for interrupting your day; I see you are on your way out. I won't be long, Mr. Grey." He says to me before turning back to Taylor. "Jason, I've got a very strange request and believe me, I will understand if you say no. There is just no stopping my daughter and once her mind is set on something, there is no changing it. As a dad, I have to do the next best thing and control the situation. I'm sure you understand how it is. Anyway, my daughter decided to use a very… unusual topic for her last project for college. I arranged for a lady to help her with it, but Ana feels that she needs to visit a damn club to truly understand the type of people involved in this lifestyle. I _very_ reluctantly agreed and Elena gave her the name of a club, but my one condition was that she will have security with her. She agreed to my condition." He stops and I'm tempted to go to Elena and beat the shit out of her. This is what she's been doing with Anastasia? Teaching her about BDSM for a paper? Why the hell would she give her the name of the club to visit?

"I have to say that if she needs to visit a club, I'm curious as to the topic of her paper." Taylor, you ass. I could answer that and surely you didn't need to ask.

"Uhm… well, it's about severe human behaviour and instead of the vast possibilities, Ana decided to write a paper about… BDSM." Shame, the poor guy is blushing. I would probably be too if I was in his shoes.

"And what can I do for you? I'm not in… that lifestyle if that's why you were looking for me." Taylor quickly adds and I just know he is very tempted right now to look at my reaction, but I'm casually standing here with my sunglasses on listening to their conversation.

"Oh, no. I don't think that. See, Ana agreed to security, but her security is under no circumstances allowed to be one of my guys. I was wondering if it will be possible for you to escort her to the club and safely back to her apartment. She will share an apartment with her friends in two week's time, but the apartment is already furnished and the stubborn girl insists on going back there instead of coming home." For the first time he pays attention to me, "That is if it will be okay with you, Mr. Grey. I will understand you require Jason's services on Saturday evening and will make alternative arrangement if that is the case." Well, I actually had a function to attend, but since my plans just changed, I won't mind.

"Actually…" Taylor starts and I cut him off.

"Actually that won't be a problem for me as I don't have any plans. If Taylor will be able to assist, I won't mind." I say and turn to walk to the SUV. We were already late and this just made it worse, but for some reason I'm not pissed or even upset. This day actually just got drastically better. Ray turns to look at Taylor.

"I would be happy to assist, Ray. Can you perhaps send me her number in order to make arrangements with her?" Taylor hands him his card. After a few more words, Ray leave and we go to my meeting. Taylor is not oblivious to the severe change in my mood, but I don't give a fuck. He works for me and he should remember that on Saturday.

I didn't hear a word in the boring meeting. My mind keeps wandering to those deep blue eyes and my new information that she's apparently strong willed. That would definitely assure that she gets punished at least once every weekend. My hand is actually tingling at the thought and I find myself rubbing it against my leg. Not for the first time since I laid eyes on this girl, I had to give myself a mental slap. What the fuck is wrong with me? I have never given any girl this much mental space in my head and she seems to be consuming my every waking moment. I wouldn't complain if she was able to consume my dreams as well and keep the nightmares away, but this is getting ridiculous.

When I get a text from Welch that he has the information I requested, I get up and signal for Taylor sitting a few tables away.

"Gentlemen, there is something very urgent that needs my attention at the office. Please excuse me. I will have Andrea contact you to set up another appointment." I say and walk away.

When I get to my office, Andrea tells me that Welch is already waiting and I close the door behind me.

"You have what I asked for?" I get to the point immediately.

"Yes, Sir." He points to a folder on my desk and I go to sit down.

"Thank you, Welch. I appreciate it and please remember to keep this to yourself." He does not look happy when he leaves my office, but I don't have time to dissect his reaction at the moment.

I open the folder and I'm thrilled to see the first item in there is a 8x5 picture of Ms. Anastasia Steele. I let my fingers run over her face while I let my imagination run wild. I can feel her soft skin under my fingers. I can feel the burn as my hand comes down on her naked ass. I can imagine what she will feel like around my dick. All soft and warm and gripping me as she reach her climax. That soft, full lips around my dick, taking me deep into her mouth, scraping her teeth against…

"Mr. Grey, your brother is here to see you." I hear Andrea says, bringing me out of my erotic daydream.

"Send him in." I reply rather rudely, but fuck, she just ruined my fantasy. I close the folder and put my hands on top of it.

Elliot comes in looking rather nice for someone in construction and I raise my brows. Apart from family dinners, I don't get to see him like this. He looks down at his clothes and shrugs. I adjust my throbbing erection and shift in my chair. If I get up now, Elliot will never let me live it down.

"Sorry to interrupt your day, Bro. But I need a huge favour and although I know you are extremely busy, I hope you can help me." He sits down after I shake his hand.

"Elliot, I really am very busy this week, what can I do for you?" I ask even though I know I will say no. I normally do, unless he needs something on a weekend like inviting me to a club or a round of golf.

"I need to meet some people on Thursday to discuss a building project for them when they want to expand to Seattle. I could go on my own, but I would really like it if you could go with me. We could make it a road trip." He says and I look at him like his lost his damn mind. I don't have time to hold his hand during meetings.

"Elliot, I'm sorry…" I start, but don't get to finish.

"Please, Christian. Portland is not that far and we can come back the same day." Did he just say Portland?

I carefully open the folder in front of me and move the photo to look at the background check. Yes, I remembered correctly. Anastasia Steele currently resides in Portland. Well, why didn't he just start with that?

"Elliot, I tell you what. We can fly Charlie Tango down to Portland on Thursday morning and if you don't have other plans, we could even spend the night at the Heathman and fly back midday on Friday. We could go out on Thursday evening or grab some dinner. What do you think?" I close the folder, but keep it in front of me. Elliot seems to be in shock and I get up to get each of us a bottle of water from the fridge.

"You would do that for me?" he says, making me feel a bit bad, but one glance at the folder and that gets replaced with anticipation.

"Yes, I would. I also have an interest in Portland and this give me the opportunity to check up on it. So, should I ask Andrea to make arrangements?" I ask and hope he doesn't back down now. All my hopes are now on seeing Ms. Steele two days from now.

"Yes. Thank you, Christian. Is Taylor going with us?"

"No." I answer faster and louder than necessary, and take a sip of water, "No, I think it will be nice if it's just the two of us. I'm sure we can take care of ourselves for one day." I say and get a megawatt grin from Elliot.

"This will be fun, you won't be disappointed. Thank you, Christian. I'll let you get back to work. See you on Thursday." I shake his hand and walk him to the door. This week just keeps getting better.

"Andrea, please can you come in for a moment?" I ask politely as I'm in a good mood after all.

"What can I do for you Mr. Grey?" She asks as she sits down with a notepad and pen… always so efficient.

"I need you to cancel all my appointments for Thursday and Friday morning until about twelve. Also arrange accommodations for me and Elliot to sleep at the Heathman on Thursday evening. Don't worry about a dinner reservation as we will take care of that ourselves. I will need Charlie Tango as we will be flying down on Thursday and back again on Friday. That will be all." I dismiss her and she leaves to take care of things. I have five minutes before my next meeting and grab the folder in front of me.

Anastasia Rose Steele. _Pretty name._ She's twenty two, turning twenty three in September. Her father's name is however stated here as Lambert and not Steele. It seems Raymond Steele is the second husband of Carla Lambert Steele Morton Adams. _Busy woman_. Ms. Steele will finish her degree next week to become a social worker. _So she wants to help people. That seems to fit her._ Bank balance contains a couple of thousand dollars, but it seems she mostly make use of her credit card. Oh yes, if you can't control your daughter, control the things around her. I get that. Ray obviously gets the statement to see what is on there. Religion not specified. Relationship status unknown. Friends with Katherine Kavanagh, Jose Rodriquez, Maya O'Conner and Jackson Cunningham. I wonder if she's dating one of these guys. Katherine Kavanagh is the daughter of the CEO of Kavanagh media. Anastasia seems to enjoy reading and going out with friends.

"Mr. Grey, Ros and the legal team are waiting for you in the main boardroom." Andrea interrupts again and I close the folder after another quick glance at Anastasia's photo. I'll see you sooner than expected, Ms. Steele.

The meeting drags on forever until we conclude what is required to take over a shipping yard in Europe. This deal has been going for almost a sixteen months and I'm starting to get annoyed at all the red tape that goes along with this acquisition. If I didn't really want the shipping yard, I would have walked away by now, but I want it and it will be good for my company, so I will just have to suck it up and see this through.

With Thursday and Friday morning now cleared, I will have to work until midnight tomorrow to get everything done and probably again on Friday. Not that I mind if there is a possibility of seeing Anastasia while we are in Portland. Who am I kidding? I will definitely be seeing Anastasia in Portland.

Wednesday is just like predicted… jam packed and so busy that I don't even have a chance to glance at the picture in my top drawer. I've been over this so much that my head is starting to hurt. I just don't know what it is about this girl. She's beautiful, that for sure, but I have more than my fair share of beautiful woman willing to 'Yes, Sir' and 'Please, Sir' whenever I want. So why this girl?

Just after midnight I get into bed, but before I fall asleep I send a text to John to ask him to stop by as early as possible the next morning. I will need to talk to someone before we leave for Portland and since Elena is out of the question, I will have to settle on John.

"Christian. You look… well… not like yourself. What is bothering you?" John sits down in the great room and I take a seat opposite him. I'm unsure of how to start. The entire morning I was practicing my little speech and now I can't remember a damn word of it.

"It's a girl." I manage to finally get out. John looks shocked. With everything this man knows about me, I'm glad I can still shock him.

"Well, for normal patients, it normally is. But… this is certainly new." He takes a sip of his water and takes out his tablet. He probably thought it was the same shit, just a different day… if only. "What about this girl?"

"She's… captivating, beautiful, young, innocent, but bold and carefree. She is completing her studies to become a social worker. High marks… damn smart girl. Controlling father with his own security company. And her eyes… John, those eyes are haunting my every waking hour. And her lip… she bites her bottom lip in this seductive way, but she's totally unaware of the effect on the unsuspecting male population." I stop when John chokes on his water. Some fucking therapist… very professional.

"I apologize, but I never thought I would see the day that a woman has this profound effect on you. Where did you meet this girl?" he asks and I keep looking in his eyes to see his response.

"In Elena's office." I say and he sighs as he puts the tablet down.

"Now, that's unfortunate. Here I was hoping for you to have a normal relationship for once and it turns out this girl is a sub." He frowns before taking his tablet again, "A social worker as a sub… just doesn't make sense."

"It's because she's not. She's not in the lifestyle at all. Turns out that she is doing research on BDSM as part of her final project for college on severe human behaviour." I explain and the frown disappears.

"That's good them. So Elena was not introducing her to you as a sub?" He asks as he's making notes on the tablet.

"Quite the opposite, John. This is so bizarre actually. Elena was trying to protect the girl from me when I arrived unexpectedly. She went so far as to tell me that Anastasia is unavailable and I'm not to approach her. That she's a nice girl and that _she_ likes her. This is Elena Lincoln we are taking about… she's does not like _anybody_. I just don't know what the hell is going on." I explain, again dumbfounded with the events of last weekend.

"This… Anastasia?" he asks and I nod, "she must be quite a young lady to get protection from Elena. The Elena I know would not think twice to try and convince this girl to become your sub. Unless she does not fit your… preferences?" he asks with those raised brows again.

"No, she does. Long dark hair, petite figure, beautiful blue eyes and luscious lips. She fits my preferences just perfectly. I'm going to Portland today with Elliot, that's where Anastasia lives, for business. I'm planning on tracking her down, but I'm not sure why I feel this immense need to see her again. I'm not sure if it is because I want her so badly or if it is because Elena said I could not have her."

"Christian, why don't you go down there and get in touch with her and see where it goes. Maybe this could be good for you. Don't push too hard, but make it clear to her that you would enjoy her company." I would enjoy far more than her company, but I decide to keep that to myself. No need to shock the poor man further. "Christian, you're not planning on making this girl your new submissive, are you?" Oh hell, he knows me too well.

"John, I don't do hearts and flowers. The plan is to get her in the playroom and fuck her out of my system and move on. I cannot concentrate on anything. My mind keeps going back to when our hands touched and it felt as if electricity where shot through me. I need to get control back and I don't think I would get that back until I've had her." So much for not shocking the good doctor anymore today because he looks well and truly shocked, but he did ask.

"I see. That may not be the best thing to do, Christian. If she is innocent and not in your lifestyle, she might refuse, especially with her knowledge that Elena is helping her with. Also, if she is bold and confident, there is no way she will even consider your proposal. You might want to accept the possibility that you might never get her… unless your offer is a normal relationship." No fucking way is that happening. I don't need a woman in my life every single day and the weekend arrangement suits me just fine.

"Thank you, John. I will keep what you said in mind. I don't mean to be rude, but I will unfortunately have to go now. Elliot should be ready to leave." We get up and shake hands on our way to the elevator.

"Good luck, Christian. Just relax and see where this is going. For all you know, she might be in a committed relationship already." The elevator doors unfortunately close before I could punch him in the fucking face and my fist connects with the elevator door. I never entertained that thought for more than a couple of seconds for a reason… I want her and if she is in a committed relationship that will not happen.

I'm still staring at the elevator door when it opens again to reveal Elliot.

"Oh boy. Did you not sleep well? It looks like shit, Bro." With a slap on my shoulder he walks into the penthouse with his overnight bag.

"Elliot, not today." I walk past him on my way to my bedroom, "I'll just get my stuff."

When we are in the air, I can't escape the thrill that runs through my body. Flying always gives me this thrill and I'm glad to see that at least something hasn't changed in the last week.

"This is great, Christian. It's been ages since we've done this. Thank you." He thanks me again and since I'm so relaxed right now, I might as well have a conversation with him.

"How's… Candice?" I ask, uncertain if it's the right name as he goes through girls like I do socks.

"Eunice… I don't know. I haven't seen her in over a week. I think the flame is dead. There's just no spark there anymore." He explains and I'm not surprised at all with his reputation. I do however understand the bit about the spark. I've never felt it before… before Anastasia.

"Sorry to hear that. So, this project, how big is it?" I ask as a distraction.

"Pretty big. After Seattle they are looking to expand to LA and then to New York. I've had one meeting with them already in Seattle and this is the second round of meetings. If I get past today, I'll be good to go." I'm glad for him. His business is doing really great, but then, he is very talented and the work they do is top quality.

We get to Portland and Elliot goes to his meeting while I go to check on several of my other interests in the area. Just after twelve, I phone Welch to track Anastasia's cell phone. He phones back twenty minute later.

"Grey."

"Sir, her phone seems to be off." He says.

"Welch, this is the 21st century. Who the hell turns of their phones in this day and age? Check again." I say, irritated as I thought I was getting her location, just to get nothing.

"Uhm… students who are writing their final exam, Sir. I've checked with the college and it seems today is the last day of her exams." He explains and it makes sense.

"Send me the link Welch. I'll track her myself when her phone comes back on." I disconnect the call and take out my iPad. My phone will definitely not make it, so I open the link on the iPad.

By the time I get a hit on her location, we are already dressed to go out for dinner. I take the iPad and pretend to work as we walk out of the hotel. The signal is on the move and I try to move as slowly as possible in order to see where she is going. When it stops across the road from Evolution, I know what their plan for the rest of the night is. I call ahead and let the manager know that I will be stopping by and to keep the VIP area closed. Evolution in Portland was the third club we opened after Ros insisted that we buy the one in Seattle two years ago. It is profitable, so I don't complain even though the club scene is not really my thing.

"Are we having dinner here?" Elliot says pointing to the restaurant in front of us. It's nice and cosy and pricy for Portland, but also not really my scene so I understand his confusion.

"Yes, unless you would rather go somewhere else?" I ask with no intention in the world to eat anywhere but right here.

"No, this is fine." He says as we walk in and is shown to the bar to wait for a table.

Elliot is telling me something, but my focus is on the beautiful, carefree brunette sitting two tables away from me. When he sees that my attention is elsewhere, he follows my gaze.

"Fuck, Bro. That blond is just my type. Another two drinks and I may just go over there to introduce myself." He says looking at the girl sitting next to Anastasia.

I can only see her in profile, but get a glimpse of her naked back. Her one hand is playing absentmindedly with her hair. When I let my eyes go down her body, I see her dress ends a bit higher than I would have allowed, but the heels soon distracts me from what punishment that dress would deserve.

"Excuse me for a moment, Elliot." I say, but I know he will follow as soon as he sees that I'm heading towards the blonds' table.

When I get to the table everyone is listening to the other brunette talking and hardly notice my presence, so I just jump in as Anastasia don't seem to be listening to what is being said anyway.

"Ms. Steele, what a pleasant surprise. It's nice seeing you again." I say in a friendly tone and every head snaps to mine except for hers. When she lifts her head, she glances at her friends before turning her head slowly in my direction. She looks shocked to see me and takes a while to find her voice.

"Mr. Grey. This is a… surprise. What are you doing here?" She asks in a surprisingly harsh tone. I wonder if I have been on her mind at least half as much as she has been on mine.

I tell her that I came with Elliot on business and she invites us to join them after the blond whispers something in her ear. Blondie only has eyes for Elliot who is as happy as I've ever seen him at this turn of events. We are introduced to Kate, Maya, Jackson and lastly Jose. Jackson and Jose do not seem to like our presence and I couldn't care less. If one of them where dating Anastasia, she would be sitting next to him, but instead, she is sitting next to me. Just like when I got to the table, everyone is sharing their plans for when they move to Seattle, but Anastasia is quietly sitting next to me.

"_Oh my god. Oh my god._ It just hit me. You are _Christian Grey_." Kate says out of nowhere and everyone looks at her. I say nothing. Elliot is trying to contain his laugh. It's not often that it takes people this long to recognise me.

"Kate, are you okay? You already know that his name is Christian Grey." I hear Anastasia's voice for the first time in over fifteen minutes while she is giving Kate a look that could kill.

"You have to excuse, Ana. She refuses to read newspapers or watch the news." Kate explains and then turns to Anastasia, "Ana, this is Christian Grey. As in Grey Enterprise Holdings." Kate looks at Anastasia, waiting for some sign that she has a clue what Kate is referring to and after Anastasia glance my way, she looks back at Kate.

"Well, good for him." Elliot is trying to hide his laugh behind a cough, but I can see that Anastasia is starting to feel uncomfortable… hell, I'm starting to feel uncomfortable.

"Ana, why don't you read the papers or watch the news?" Elliot asks. I continue to get my visual fill of Anastasia and notice her shift in her seat. It brings joy to me to know that she is affected by me.

"Newspapers are filled with things that already happened, which is pointless as nothing can be changed about it. They also turn tragedies into something sensational for the pure purpose of selling papers. Apart from that, there is sport, which I have no interest in and the financial pages. That's for businessmen and clearly I'm not one." She answers and that explains why she apparently has no idea who I am. It's refreshing actually.

"There is also the weather prediction, Ana." Her friend, Maya says.

"Yes… well… why spoil the surprise?" She says matter-of-factly and I actually giggle, surprising myself and Elliot.

"Fair point well made, Anastasia." Damn, I like the way her name sounds coming from my mouth. I'm again distracted by the blush on her face and imagine the same colour on her naked ass. My dick is twitching and I shift in my seat to get it under control before we have to get up, which will be soon as I already paid the bill.

After we get invited by Kate to join them at the club as well, we get up and as I glance down to ensure my hard on, caused by the close proximity of Anastasia Steele, is hidden; my eyes caught her shoes as she gets up. I let my eyes run up her legs and over her dress, thinking of ways to get her out of it, but then I blink and realize just how short the dress really is. I should have come to that realization earlier when she was sitting down. How can she go to a club dressed like this? I can feel the anger cursing through my veins, but can't take my eyes from her at the same time. She looks HOT, no doubt about that. When Kate comes to stand next to Anastasia, her dress is even shorter and one look at Elliot tells me that he is feeling the same anger right now.

When the fact that neither of them belongs to either of us hit me, I sigh and walk over to Anastasia. I give her an apologetic smile, just in case she has seen the anger in my eyes, and offer her my arm.

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**A/N: Please don't forget to review.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: If Christian is the way he is because of abuse and Elena, why is Elena the way she is? What happened to Elena? This story is not about Elena, but Ana meets Elena first and then saves both of them. Different circumstances, different events, but the same couple. Hope you like it.**

**I hope you like it.**

_**Important: I do not own the Fifty Shades Trilogy or the characters. They belong to the very talented E.L. James.**_

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**Christian POV:**

"Shall we?" I ask and she shakes her head while slipping her arm through mine at the same time. She is probably as confused about my behaviour as I am.

The club is usually rather busy, but tonight it is unusually busy. When Anastasia and her friends go to stand behind the crowd at the door, I ask them to follow me and we walk up to the door. No way in hell will Christian Grey stand in a queue… ever.

"Christian, there is a queue waiting. We can't just walk in." Kate says and I point to the sign above the door. Below the big letters of Evolution is printed in small letter 'A division of Grey Enterprises Holdings Inc.'

"_Of course you own this club_." She says sarcastically and I don't think I like her or that I would be spending a lot of time in her company.

As soon as we get to the VIP area, the girls put their things down on the table and turn to go to the dance floor. Jackson, Jose and Elliot follow Kate and Maya, but I stay behind with Anastasia. This is perfect, just the two of us.

"Anastasia, you really do look stunning this evening. I'm glad we ran into you." I say and just like earlier, there is a pretty pink blush on her cheeks. She definitely does not like to receive attention. Before I can stop myself, I'm imagining that pretty pink on her ass and I have to adjust myself again.

"Thank you. It was a nice surprise to see you tonight." She says while I call the waiter.

"Would you like some wine or something else to drink?"

"I would like a strawberry daiquiri please." She says to the waiter and I order a bottle of white wine, a couple of beers and several bottles of water for the table. I'm not sure who is responsible for getting Anastasia home yet and the last thing I want is for the person responsible to be drunk.

We begin talking about her degree and future plans. She has applied at several institutions, but has not heard anything yet. I'm sure my mother can help her if she is not successful. She tells me about her controlling but adorable father, who I don't mention that I've already kind off met, and then about her mother who has been married four times. When she tells me Ray Steele was her mother's second husband after her real father died in a tragic accident, it gives me the opportunity to ask what I've been wondering about for the last two days.

"If Ray Steele is not your birth father, why do you have his name?" I ask and she smiles at me. It is very clear that he means a lot to her.

"Because he is my dad. He is the only father I've ever known and the only one that ever wanted me. I went to live with him when my mother got married to her third husband as I wanted some stability and I was definitely not getting that with her. Ray never complained once and he loves me like I'm his own blood. He gave up a lot for me. First his career in the military and then his home in Montesano in order to ensure that I have a home in Seattle when my studies are complete. Blood relation does not determine family as far as I'm concerned." She finishes and takes a sip of her second drink. She makes me feel relaxed and I've never had a conversation like this with anyone… not even Elena.

"I was adopted at the age of four so I know exactly what you mean. Grace and Carrick adopted first Elliot, then me and lastly Mia, my younger sister. They have never treated us as anything other than their children." I tell her and then look away. What the hell is going on with me? I want this woman as a sub, not as a damn friend. I never disclose any personal information, not even with a NDA in place and I don't even have that.

"What is your sister like? I mean, the two of you is as different as night and day," she waves her hand between me and where Elliot is dancing.

"Mia is… different. On most days she is exhausting and a lot to handle. But she always makes you feel better, even though you are grateful if she leaves. She does everything in excess. She is twenty one and decided that she would like to own her own restaurant. I own The Mile High Club in Seattle and she is the Assistant Manager there in order to see if it is something that she would like to do permanently. It's only been about five months, but she is doing real great and I guess she will come to me one of these days to open her own restaurant. Honestly, it will be a lot less effort to just make her a partner in The Mile High Club than to assist her to start a new restaurant and then try and establish a name for herself." Again, I'm amazed at the level of information that I'm sharing with a complete stranger.

"Elliot seems nice." She says looking at the dance floor where Elliot is grinding with Kate. Since I have nothing nice to say about Kate yet, I go for the next best thing.

"Come dance with me." I get up and hold my hand out to her which she immediately takes. When our hands touch, the spark is there again, but neither of us pulls away. She is moving closer to me and just before I lose control, the song change and snap me out of… whatever that was. With a slight shake of my head, I kiss her gently on the cheek and lead her to the dance floor. This is so not me. I don't date, flirt, have nice dinners or dance with a woman. I don't want a girlfriend, I want a new sub. I _need _a new sub. What is this girl doing to me?

**Ana POV:**

As he walks in front of me towards the dance floor, I run my fingers over my cheek. It's still tingling from the light kiss he gave me. Not to mention the feeling of having my hand in his. I couldn't keep him out of my mind before tonight so I'm not sure what the hell I'll do now.

When we reach the dance floor, he pulls me to stand in front of him, like Elliot did with Kate. They seemed to have hit it off and it's good to see a smile on her face again. I'm aware of all the stares directed in our direction. I don't mind the men looking at me or Kate, but when my eyes meet Kate's, I can see that she too is not impressed with the women practically panting for Christian and Elliot. I know that neither of us has a reason to be jealous, but it is still considered rude to stare. It's not like the two of them are here by themselves.

After the third song I relax and give myself over to the music. I feel his hands on my hips. The spark is so much more intense with this touch than the ones I've felt previously, probably due to the dimmed lightning and music. I'm tempted to turn around and look into his eyes, but I decide against it and instead move back a bit to be closer to him. His grip tightens on my hips and I let my head fall back to rest on his shoulder. I don't know what it is about Christian Grey, but I feel relaxed and safe in his presence. I'm careful to keep my butt away from his crotch and instead put my hands over his.

In the blink of an eye I'm left alone on the dance floor, along with a shocked Kate and only a short "I'm sorry, I have to go," from Christian. I try to follow them to the VIP section, but instead of going there to sit down, they leave through the front door. I turn around and look wide eyed at Kate. I have no idea what the hell just happened. Her shocked expression soon changes to pissed and that is one Kate not to be messed with.

"That was fucking rude," she screams over the music and I nod with my eyes on the door in case he came back, but nothing.

I've suddenly lost my desire to dance and by the livid look on Kate's face, so has she. We tell the rest to excuse as and head back to the VIP section. Kate signals for the waiter and he comes over immediately.

"Two tequila's please," she says as she takes out a twenty to hand it to him.

"Miss, Mr. Grey said to send the bill for your group to him." Now that was totally the wrong thing to say to two girls currently pissed off at the suddenly absent Mr. Grey.

"You know what, make that six tequilas please," Kate smiles, impressed by my change in attitude. When the waiter is out of hearing distance I lean forward, "We might as well get drunk now that the rude bastard ruined our night. Paying to make me feel better is the least he can do."

"Do you have any idea what the hell happened?" she asks and I shrug.

"We had a nice chat and then we danced. It was magical really. The electricity flowing between us was just… amazing. I've never felt that with anyone. One minute we were dancing and the next he was gone. I have no idea why, but for some reason I think it has something to do with me." I say as the waiter returns with six tequilas and two strawberry daiquiris. At my raised eyebrows, he bends forward.

"I thought you ladies might need something else as well," he whispers with a wink and Kate hands him the twenty as a tip.

Two hours later we are drunk and neither of us thought this through as we will need to go home and we came in my car since I'm normally the sober one. Since we have no ride and the rest already left just after midnight, we decide that we might as well drink some more.

"You know Kate, when I met Christian last week I thought… wow. I've never seen anyone so good looking, but he also seems cold and detached at times. Earlier we actually had a nice, relaxing conversation and everything was fine until he suddenly had to leave… dragging Elliot along with him. To think that I've wasted five days thinking about that ass." I say as I drink the bottle of water the waiter brought me that I definitely did not ask for. I would prefer another shot, but what the hell, I might as well drink the water.

"You didn't tell me you met Christian Grey last weekend, Steele. I mean, anyone else, fine, but this is _Christian Grey_ we are talking about… ass or not, he's definitely not just a guy." There it is again, the feeling like I'm missing something.

"I didn't know that you knew him?" Surely she would have said something earlier.

"Anastasia Rose Steele, Christian Grey is the only 28-year old billionaire living in Seattle. No one knows him but everyone at least knows _of_ him. He is just _the_ most eligible bachelor on the West Coast. Where the hell have you been living?" She says but I'm too shocked to answer, "You heard right, Steele… _Billionaire_… that's like very, very rich and he is also very, very single… even though I thought that he was gay. The way he looked at you tonight proved that he is definitely not gay." She goes on, but I barely hear a word she is saying.

I feel like such a big idiot. What the fuck was I thinking? I knew he was way out of my league, but I did not realise just how much out of my league he is. What a damn fool. Everybody knew who he was but me. He had enough time to tell me, but he led me on without telling me who he really was. I actually thought he liked me as much as I liked him. The spark between us could have been all in my head. Oh damn, I need to get another drink.

"You seem pissed, Ana. Pity you don't have his number, you could totally tell him to fuck off in your condition and have no consequences or regrets." She says looking rather wicked and I know just what a bitch Kate Kavanagh can be when she wants to.

That's when I notice that she is pointing to the chair next to me. It seems someone was in such a hurry to get out of here, that he forgot his jacket. I take the jacket and try to resist the urge to bury my nose in it to breathe in his scent, but fail miserably. There is just something irresistible about that man and it is most certainly not his money. His eyes, his smile, his just fucked hair, his scent… all irresistible, all hot and all permanently burned into my brain.

"Ana. Ana! You are pissed, remember? See if there is a business card in there with his number on it. Then phone him and tell him he was rude before you put the phone down in his ear." She shouts at me and I reach into the jacket pocket to pull out his wallet. I look at Kate and she nods so I open it to find his business card. This is just perfect. I carefully remove one card and put the wallet back where I found it before placing the jacket carefully across my lap like it is made out of glass. Could I be any more pathetic? When I pick up my phone however, I notice that it is almost three in the morning and a quick glance across the club confirms that the time is indeed correct. There is less than thirty people left, leaving the club practically empty.

"Kate, it's almost three in the morning and the club is already empty. I think we should just go." She nods and we take our belongings, along with Christian's jacket and head out. Between the two of us, I seem to be the best option to drive so I get behind the wheel. When I turn into the road, Kate punch in his number from the business card and hands the phone to me.

"Come on, Steele. Tomorrow you won't be able to get away with it as you won't be drunk. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and you cannot miss it. Just hit dial." She pushes the phone into my hand and when I take it, I see that she already pressed dial and the damn thing is already ringing.

"Kate, it's three in the morning. He is going to be severely pissed." I try to get out of it, but she is not having it.

**Christian POV:**

As we dance, I keep seeing every fucker around us looking at what I want and I see red. Can they not see she is clearly here with me? As she starts to relax after a couple of songs, I just can't help myself and I put my hands on her hips. My imagination is seeing me flip her over and fucking her in this barely-there dress and I have to blink to get the picture out of my head. We start to dance together and I'm instinctively moving closer to her, gripping harder onto her hips. When she puts her head on my shoulder, I breathe in her scent and it goes straight to my dick, which is luckily not touching her. Surely this cannot be normal. Why does Elena have to be such a bitch about Anastasia? She is the one I need to talk to, not Flynn. She understands my needs and what I need from Anastasia, is her naked and willing to be whipped and fucked, not hearts and flowers with flirting and dancing. When she puts her hands on top of mine, I lose it. My erection is close to painful and I want nothing more than to fuck Ms. Steele hard and fast. Well, maybe hard, but definitely not fast. My breathing speeds up and my blood feels like it's been replaced with fire. I'm so turned on right now that I can't think. I stop myself just as I'm about to kiss the soft skin in her neck. I close my eyes, hold my breath and decide that I have to get the fuck out of here immediately. I let go of Anastasia like she is on fire and reach for Elliot's hand.

"I'm sorry, I have to go," I shout over my shoulder, already on my way out.

I drag Elliot out towards the car and neither of us says a word before I'm on the I-5 heading… fuck knows where as I'm out of Portland already.

"Christian Travelyn Grey, stop this fucking car right now!" Elliot shouts and that brings me back to where we are. I pull over, stop the car and bang my head on the steering wheel. "Would you mind explaining _why the fuck_ I'm in this car with you when I could be in bed… with Kate?"

"I don't know what the hell to do. I just couldn't stay there. I had to leave." I say with my eyes closed and my head against the steering wheel.

"I could work out that part for myself. Mind telling me why?" he asks and I do feel like I owe him an explanation after behaving so rudely.

"Anastasia. Anastasia Steele. She has been driving me fucking crazy since I met her last weekend at Esclava. I don't know how to get her out of my fucking head, but I can't have a relationship with her. I'm no fucking good for her. I can't have her and I can't stand the thought of someone else having her. I want her, but I don't want to ruin her life. How fucked up is that?" I say before I can stop myself. When I lift my head, Elliot is staring at me with wide eyes.

"Holy fuck! That was not at all what I was expecting." He runs his hand through his hair and let his head fall against the headrest. "So… when I asked you to come with me, you planned on seeing her?" Busted.

"Yes, I'm sorry." I say defeated and put my head back against the steering wheel.

"Fuck, Bro. Don't apologize. It's a nice change to see you like this. You are infatuated with Ana. This is_ soooo_ cool. Now, first we are going back to Portland to sleep at the hotel. Then, tomorrow morning you are giving me Ana's number, which I know you already have, in order for me to call Kate and take her for breakfast to apologize. If luck is on my side, she can join Ana in Seattle this weekend and I can take her out as Ana apparently already have plans for Saturday."

"Okay," is my only response as I turn around to go to the Heathman. I'm suddenly very tired and could do with some sleep.

"I think Ana is pissed at you though. Damn, I would be pissed if I didn't think that she could be good for you and that you might actually be falling for this girl." Elliot goes on as we drive back.

"I'm not falling for this girl, Elliot." I scowl at him, but he seems oblivious.

"Yeah, yeah… and I'm a virgin. You, my dear brother, can fight this all you like, but this girl… this beautiful girl from Portland… is going to change your life. Just you wait and see." I'm listening to all he is saying, but it can't... she can't… I don't want my life to change. I just want this damn girl out of my head.

After a couple of drinks in our hotel suite, I get into bed and take my phone to see where Anastasia is. I know I should leave her alone, but I just can't. I'm surprised to see that she is still at the club. I phone the manager and I'm told that Anastasia and Kate have been drinking shots since we left. I ask that water is sent to their table and that he call me if there is any sign of trouble. Naturally I also instruct that all men, with the exception of Jose and Jackson, are refused access to the VIP area.

With all instructions given, I try to fall asleep, but it's useless. I'm imagining coming home to find Anastasia there, going to bed with her, having dinner alone with her and I turn to bury my face in my pillow… and scream. Anastasia Steele is driving me insane and I can't stop it. I can't stop thinking about her and I can't stop having these visions of what life could be like with her. Could I be a normal person and have a normal relationship with this girl?

Who the fuck am I kidding? I'm Christian fucking Grey. I don't do hearts and flowers! After yet another mental slap, or more like a mental punch, I finally close my eyes and fall asleep.

I'm woken by the ringing of my phone and immediately answer it when I see that it is almost three in the morning. A call at this hour can only mean trouble. Just as I answer, Elliot peeks into my room.

"Kate, it's three in the morning. He is going to be severely pissed." I keep quiet and look to Elliot who mouths 'Everything okay?' Before I can change my mind, I put my phone on speaker and wave for Elliot to come in. I put my finger over my mouth to tell him to keep his mouth shut.

"Anastasia?" I ask and hear a giggle at the other end of the phone. What came next left both of us staring at the phone. Elliot is speechless and I'm seething.

"Christian Grey… I would just like to say…" Ana starts, sounding drunk, when Kate interrupts, _"Ana, you missed the turn. Turn around."_

"Oh crap!" another fit of giggles from both of them, "Christian, please hold on for one moment."

I am seeing red and the speechlessness is because I'm trying to control my temper before I go over there to kill them myself. These two women have no sense of self preservation, that much is clear.

"_Fuck, Steele. Maybe you should slow down?"_ Kate suggests while still laughing.

"Kate, I'm trying to have a conversation here." I hear Ana's voice and then she's talking to me again, "Christian Grey, I would just like to tell you that you are quite possibly the rudest man I've ever met." Well honey, you haven't seen the worst of it yet. What you just unleashed is so much worse than you can imagine.

"Anastasia? Are you driving after drinking all those shots?" She is way too drunk to figure out that I know what she has been drinking after I left.

"Well, Kate is too drunk to drive and we want to go home." She explains as it should be obvious to me. I look at the door where Elliot just left and he is already back busy putting on jeans and a t-shirt.

"_Kate _is too drunk to drive?" This woman will send me to an early grave, of that I'm absolutely certain. Her poor father, I suddenly feel so sorry for him.

"Yep, she had an extra shot so we thought it would be better if I drive. Hold on, I need to turn here and I'm in the wrong lane," thank God it is three in the morning and the streets will be practically empty.

"Anastasia?" I say into the phone as I pull on jeans and a shirt myself. "Anastasia?" I ask again and nod to Elliot when our shoes are on. There are voices on the other side of the phone and they sound like they are trying to figure out where they are. When I get to the elevator I try again, now tired, pissed and worried. "Anastasia!"

"Geez, no need to shout. We are just a little lost." She tells me what I already figured out before she starts laughing with Kate.

"Anastasia, pull over, lock your doors and wait where you are. We will be right there." I tell her and why I expected a polite 'Yes, Sir' I don't know, but I certainly did not expect what came out of her beautiful mouth next.

"You know what, Grey? Go fuck yourself. Money _obviously_ cannot buy manners. We don't need _you_ to get us home, we know where we live and are capable of getting ourselves there, thank you very much. I will courier your jacket that you left at the club in your haste to get out of there, to your office. I saw there is an address on your business card. I didn't phone you to ask for help getting home, I phoned to tell you that you are rude. Also, don't give me orders, I don't even take orders from my father and I will sure as shit not take them from you. Enjoy the rest of your evening, _Mr._ _Grey_." And then the phone goes dead.

I look at Elliot who heard the entire conversation and even his eyes are wide. No one, in my entire life, has ever spoken to me with such… such… disrespect. Just who the hell does this woman think she is? If I didn't need my phone to track the stubborn, disrespectful woman, I would throw it against a fucking wall. But I take a deep breath and open the app to track her phone.

"This woman will not change my life; she will end my life at this rate." I say mostly to myself and even if Elliot heard it, he is way too pissed himself to comment.

As we pull away from the hotel, I pick up her signal. It doesn't take long to get to them and we pull up behind them where they are parked next to the road with their phones in their hands. As we walk towards the car, the windows are open and both of them are speaking at the same time. I lift my hand to tell Elliot to stop on the other side of the car.

"Ana, let me look at the map on your phone, my phone is very blurry. I think it's broken." Kate says and I can tell her that her phone is blurry because she is drunk.

"Kate, I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this, but it seems my phone is broken too. The map is very unclear." And then they giggle, as if this is even remotely funny.

I walk over to Ana's window and get down to look at Ana.

"Why the fuck are you driving if you're drunk?"

Instead of getting yelled at like I expected, I get slapped. Not for the first time tonight, I'm shocked speechless. I mean… Anastasia just slapped me… Christian Grey… across my face… hard. I hear Elliot's "_Oh fuck! That did not just happen_," followed by Kate's "_Way to go, Steele_."

Anastasia takes advantage of my shocked state and push me away from the door and proceeds to get out. She stands in front of me with her hands on her hips and Kate is standing on the other side next to Elliot.

"Christian Grey! Are you fucking insane? You scared the crap out of me and almost gave me a heart attack." She screams at me and all I see is her… bend over my knee and my hand ensuring that her _disrespectful_, perfect ass is a pretty shade of red. I pull myself together and walk to stand in front of her.

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**A/N: Please, please review and let me know what you think.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: If Christian is the way he is because of abuse and Elena, why is Elena the way she is? What happened to Elena? This story is not about Elena, but Ana meets Elena first and then saves both of them. Different circumstances, different events, but the same couple. Hope you like it.**

**I'm very, very excited about the story line of this story. Please stick with me, you will not be disappointed. **

**I wrote this chapter, and I hope you like it, but I could actually feel Christian's frustration and irritation… but then again, it doesn't take much to frustrate me at the moment as I stopped smoking twenty one days ago.**

_**Important: I do not own the Fifty Shades Trilogy or the characters. They belong to the very talented E.L. James.**_

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**Christian POV:**

"Anastasia Steele! Would you _please_ just calm the fuck down?" I say in the calmest voice I could muster at this moment as I'm way too tired to deal with her right now.

"Not until you apologize, Christian Grey," the insolent girl says while crossing her arms over her chest. When she has to move one hand to grab onto the car to steady herself, I give in in a hope to get this over with.

"I'm sorry," I say for the first time in many years even if I only said it in a hope to get to bed before the sun comes up. I should still be sleeping, not getting slapped in the middle of a street in fucking Portland by a girl who is way overdue for a proper spanking. She does not seem to be pleased and I sigh, getting more exhausted by the second as more pissed off does not seem possible right now.

"What are you sorry for?" she ask and I glare at her.

"Excuse me?" maybe I heard wrong or she probably didn't think before she spoke, she is drunk after all.

"You heard me just fine. What are you apologizing for?" I don't know if it is her or the alcohol, but she is totally unaffected by the absolutely livid expression on my face that would have most CEO's pissing their pants.

"Can we please just go and get some sleep?" I try again as I will not give in to a hundred and ten pound drunk girl. Elliot and Kate are just about pissing themselves and their faces are dark red in their attempts to control their laughter. I so fucking glad someone is having fun at my expense.

"Not before you tell me what you are apologizing for… and you can quit trying to kill me with a look, it is physically impossible and I'm not one of your minions." Yep, she is practically begging for a proper punishment and I would be more than happy to offer my services. Defeated by drunken Anastasia, I sigh and run my hand through my hair in frustration.

"I'm sorry for being rude at the club." I say as sincerely as I can at this moment in a hope that we will finally get to leave.

"And?" She makes a rolling motion with her hand for me to continue.

Oh. For. Fuck. Sakes. _I'm going to kill this damn woman._ My head is starting to hurt due to the many times I have run my hands through it in the last twelve hours. Forget planning her fucking punishment, I should be planning what outfit to wear to her funeral. Elliot can't be seen anymore, but I can hear him laughing on the other side of the car. Kate gives a fuck about my level of anger and has given up trying to hide her laughter.

"Anastasia. You are… I am… _Fuck!_ Can you _please _just get into the car?" I point to my car, but she rolls her eyes and opens her door to get back behind the wheel.

My black Armani suit with the black stripped silk tie and white button down shirt finished with my new platinum cufflinks... that would be the perfect outfit for the funeral of this beautiful woman.

"I meant _the other_ car, Anastasia. Elliot will be driving this car as soon as he can pick himself up from the fucking ground." I spit out and point to my car again.

The petite brunette with the purest blue eyes I've ever seen turns around and walks until we are practically standing toe-to-toe. I take a calming breath and look down, fully expecting the look of defeat on her face… just to find the girl looking up at me with a smug grin.

"Anastasia, I am an ass. Please forgive me for being rude at the club _and_ then proceeding to ignore your wishes to leave you the hell alone. Not only did I track you down when you told me in no uncertain terms to go fuck myself, I also scared the crap out of you and almost gave you a heart attack. I also promise not to use my spyware on you again," Anastasia says in a deep voice and even I would be laughing at that if I wasn't unbelievably pissed at her. "Oh, that's quite alright Christian. And I apologize for slapping you across your face, even if it was the _most _satisfying thing I've done in a long time. But now that you mentioned it, invading my privacy with, what I'm sure is illegal, spyware is not cool." She continues and I've had enough of this shit.

I take the keys out of her hand and toss it over the roof of the car where Elliot managed to pull himself together even though he is again half bent over the car, slapping his one hand on his knee.

"Follow us. They can sleep at the hotel." I tell Elliot and extend my hand to Anastasia. True to her stubborn nature and drunken state, she refuses to move. I walk up to her with a huge smile plastered on my face and then pick her up, throwing her over my shoulder and walking to my car.

She is kicking and complaining and just before we reach the car, she vomits… right down my back. I don't stop. If I stop now, I will go thermonuclear on her ass and will definitely be attending a funeral next week. I am beyond livid. I don't even think there is a word to describe just how pissed I am at this very moment. It's not a good thing to know that I was wrong earlier and that I am able to actually reach new heights in pissed-off-ness.

Elliot and Kate both have their hands over their mouths… in shock this time. Elliot is unsure of how I'm going to react and after I put Anastasia in the car, I slam the door shut while she is still busy apologizing. I cannot see or talk to her right now. I'm torn between getting into her car and getting the fuck out of Portland and taking her to the hotel to make sure she is taken care off.

"Elliot, please can you hand me my jacket in the back of Anastasia's car?" I ask Elliot while I'm already busy removing the t-shirt that just got puked on. What I'm feeling right now is possibly the highest level of frustration and irritation known to man. I have never been puked on.

I throw the shirt in the back of my car; of course slamming the door shut again, and put on the jacket. Kate and Elliot are yet to say a word and continue to stare at me with wide eyes.

"I'll see you at the hotel," I say to Elliot and get in the car. I'm in no mood to argue with any of these two women regarding where they sleep tonight. Since they are clearly incapable of looking after themselves, they will have to do what I decide until they are sober.

I phone Reynolds to ensure we get into the hotel unseen. When we get to the hotel, Anastasia has passed out. I can't say exactly when that happened, as I refused to look at her. I'm so mad and so confused. I want to really hurt her. I want to punish her for being so irresponsible tonight. I want to spank her for pissing me off and being disrespectful. But at the same time, I also don't want to cause her pain.

Why the hell did this have to happen to me? Everything was perfect in my life. Controlled. Now… well now everything is just messed up. I'm tired, irritated, frustrated, pissed and carrying a passed out, drunken woman upstairs with a dress that can barely be classified as such. Oh, and did I mention she fucking puked on me?

I look at my life at the moment and think… what the fuck happened to my perfect life? Why did I have to meet the most insubordinate, disrespectful, disobedient, beautiful, amazing, captivating woman?

I take Anastasia to the bathroom first and try to clean her up, but she is only half awake and grumpy, not helping in my irritated state… but damn adorable. I unzip the dress and even in my pissed state, I can feel the spark as my fingers stoke her naked back. Amazed that I can actually get it up right now, I go to fetch a t-shirt and pull it over her head while ensuring that I stay behind her. I pick her up after she rinsed her mouth with some mouthwash and put her gently under the covers.

"You look very mad, Mr. Grey," she says with the duvet pulled to her chin, eyes partially closed again.

"That would be because I am very mad, Ms. Steele. Go to sleep, I would not want to be you when you wake up." I say honestly and walk away.

I jump in the shower and just stand there until the water runs cold, thinking it will somehow magically make everything all right. Giving up on trying to figure this shit out, I get into bed just as the sun is coming up… just fucking perfect.

Instead of falling asleep instantly, I turn on my side and look at the woman next to me… in the same bed. As much as I hate what this woman unknowingly has done to my perfect life, I strangely feel at peace at this moment.

She is safe where I can keep an eye on her and that somehow makes me happy. I let my eyes go over her sleeping form and because I just can't seem to control myself, I gently brush the hair away from her face.

"Christian." she says and I freeze thinking I woke her up.

When she doesn't open her eyes, I relax and let my hand fall on the bed between us. While sleeping she moves her hand to cover mine and even with her half comatose, I feel the spark. With the soft moan escaping from her lips, I'm guessing she feels it too.

"What am I going to do with you, Ms. Steele?" was my last words before I fell asleep with my hand wrapped in hers.

**Ana POV:**

I wake up and open my eyes slowly, but close them again very quickly. I must still be dreaming. When I open them again, he is still there, in bed, with me. I don't move out of fear that I will wake him up. My hand is over his between us and it actually feels good. He looks so peaceful and carefree at this moment that I want to snuggle closer to him and go back to sleep.

Then my brain kicks in and I just about fall out of the bed, taking the duvet with me. I jump up and prepare to run out of the room, but instead I pick up the duvet to cover him again. It took a lot longer than needed because he is in just his pyjama bottoms. He obviously works out a lot judging by his sculpted back and I'm suddenly disappointed that he is not sleeping on his back. What normal woman would want to cover this masterpiece? After I pull the duvet over him, I run out of the room and panic hits me just as I close the door and I sink slowly down the door until I'm sitting against the door on the floor. I put my head on my knees in an effort to think with the massive headache.

What the fuck happened last night? He left. We stayed. We drank. He forgot his jacket. I wanted to phone him. Yes, that sounds about right. Did I bring his jacket to his hotel, which is where I'm assuming I am at this moment? Where is Kate? When I glance down, the next obvious question in my mind is where the hell are my clothes? That was soon followed by nausea, a pounding headache and a possible heart attack. My head falls back against the door and I lower my legs in order for my hand to reach the spot over my heart, gripping the t-shirt that is definitely not mine, so hard that my knuckles are turning white. Oh God, I hope we didn't… we couldn't… he wouldn't…

"Ana, you're up and looking much better this morning?" Elliot says in a good mood coming out of the next door room and closing the door behind him. I'm fully aware of my half dressed state in what I think is one of Christian's t-shirt. Instinctively I try to pull the t-shirt further down and Elliot laughs. "Let me get you a robe and then go hunt down some Advil for you." He goes back into the room and comes out with a long, fluffy white robe that he helps me to put on. It feels like I'm wrapped in a teddy bear, so I'm in heaven, apart from my massive hangover and the panic attack looming behind this fake smile.

"Where is Kate and what time is it?" I ask softly as I sit down on the soft couch in the living area. If this is a hotel suite, I can just imagine what one pays for a room like this.

"Kate is still sleeping and it's just after eleven. Christian should be waking up soon, even though we just got to bed as the sun came up." He explains as he runs out of the room and comes back with a bottle of water and two Advil tablets.

"Thank you. I'm never drinking again." I mutter as I take the pills.

"If I had a dollar for every time I heard that. So, while we wait for the sleeping beauties to wake up, let's order some breakfast. What are you in the mood for?" Why is he in such a good mood? Never mind… I so don't want to know.

"Sleep." I say as I pull my legs up and under me. This is actually comfortable.

"Well, that I can understand after what you went through last night. At one stage I was afraid that Christian was going to kill you." He goes on and I frown. He starts laughing and sits down after a couple of minutes and an order to room service that would feed a small army. "What exactly do you remember, Ana?"

"Well, you left and we started drinking shots. Kate saw that Christian left his jacket there and I searched for a business card to phone him to get it to him. From there I'm pretty much assuming that we brought the jacket here or you came to fetch it. I'm not too sure." I'm trying desperately to recall the rest of the evening, but my headache is still very much present and it's hard to breathe, never mind think.

"Oh no, sweetheart. The rest of the evening was _much_ more interesting than that. I'll give you the short version." He comes to sit on the couch next to me, turning to face me, in typical gossip mode… even if the gossip is about me. "You did phone Christian to tell him that you will courier his jacket to his office, then to go fuck himself and that he was rude. I think you mentioned something like money can't buy manners as well. Then you got lost as both of you were beyond drunk and in no condition to drive. We tracked your phone and found the two of you giggle beside the road because your phones were not working as it seemed blurry. When Christian approached your side you slapped him. After an argument between the two of you, that I will never, ever forget or let him forget, he picked you up over his shoulder. I think he was debating between getting you in the car or in a grave and decided that the car is the better option. Oh, that was after you apologized to yourself on behalf of Christian and then accepted your own apology." He explains with a huge smile, but I'm mortified. What the hell got into me? I bury my face in my hands and pray for the ability to teleport myself anywhere else but in this hotel room. No wonder Elliot thought that Christian was going to kill me.

"You forgot the part where she vomited on me before she passed out in my car." I hear Christian's voice coming from behind me. He does not sound happy and honestly, I can't blame him. "I hope you slept well, Anastasia," he says as he goes to open the door where someone is knocking, fully dressed in black jeans, a white shirt and black boots. He shows the waiter to the dining room to set up breakfast, but I can't eat. Honestly, if I eat now, I might just puke… again it seems.

Elliot excuse himself to go and wake up Kate, leaving me alone with a not-so-happy Christian.

"We didn't… I mean… in bed…last night," I can't even say it.

"Anastasia, you were comatose. Necrophilia is not my thing. I like my women sentient and receptive." He says, understandably offended for me even asking that question.

While he is busy getting coffee in the next room, I go back to the bedroom I came from and sit on the bed. This is so not like me. I would blame Kate, but it seems that she actually behaved herself.

This has to be _the_ most embarrassing moment of my life. If I've ever said it before, I was wrong. This tops any stupid thing I've ever done. I told Christian Grey to go fuck himself, that he is rude, that money don't buy manners, slapped him and puked on him. I wonder how high up we are at the moment. Maybe I can sneak out the window? _Shit… Kate_. I will have to take a shower and go face the music. How bad can it be? It's not like I will ever see him again, so I can walk out of here after a very sincere apology and forget this ever happened. Kate does it all the time and she seems fine.

I decide to take a shower and get myself looking respectable before facing the understandably upset Christian. The shower is amazing and the shower gel smells like Christian. I've never seen a shower with eighteen shower heads, all spraying water, so this is new for me. I smile at the fact that I will smell like him the entire day, as if I needed any more reminders of him. When I get out of the shower, I dry off and put the fluffy robe back on before helping myself to his toothbrush and toothpaste. I wash the toothbrush afterwards and put it back in its place. When I get back to the bed, there is a set of clothes on the bed with a note on top of it.

_Anastasia,_

_These are for you._

_Breakfast is ready when you're finished._

_CTG_

Not having the energy or the guts to get into another argument with this man over something that really looks insignificant compared to what I did to him, I get dressed and dry my hair before leaving the room. Whoever bought the clothes is very good. The tight fitting blue jean with baby blue top is a perfect fit, just like the pretty black flats with the pretty bow on top.

I get to the dining room where everyone is already waiting and take comfort in the fact that I'm not the only one battling with a headache. The food look amazing, but the smell is just… awful. I can't even think about food for at least a couple of hours.

"Ana, you look… like crap. Sorry, but you really do." Kate mutters and I glare at her.

"Thank you, Kate. You look rather crappy yourself. I'm never going out with you again." I say as I sit down, but apart from getting some coffee, I avoid everything else at the table. As luck would have it, I somehow chose the seat right next to Christian and as suspected, he does not look happy. "Morning Christian, did you sleep well?" I ask and he looks up at me.

"I did, and you?" He tries to hide the confusion in his eyes and I'm tempted to ask him what it is about.

"All things considered, actually good, thank you." I finish my coffee while Christian is in deep thought and Elliot and Kate is busy discussing their plans for the weekend. By the looks of it, they did much more than sleeping. Since I really want to remember my first time, whenever that might be, I'm grateful that Christian is a gentlemen. I might as well get this over with, "I would like to apologize for my behaviour last night and for being an inconvenience. You have no responsibility towards either of us, yet you came to our rescue at three in the morning." I say to both of them before turning to Christian, "I'm sorry for insulting you and… the other stuff. I can assure you it's not my normal behaviour. I don't know what got into me." I finish and he looks at me with a straight face.

"Oh, I know exactly what got into you… twenty seven shots between the two of you. What _you_ did was very irresponsible, Anastasia. You put yourself in danger and by getting behind the wheel; you also put Kate in danger. I don't care about insulting me, although I have to admit that I've never been treated so disrespectfully." He says and I see Elliot and Kate each grab their plates and leave the room to give us some privacy. "Do you make a habit of drinking well beyond your limit?" he asks and I feel like I should be looking down, but I look straight into those angry gray eyes.

"Actually, apart from a couple of cocktails or a glass of wine, I never really drink." I answer as polite as possible, but what I want to tell him is to fuck off. Who the hell does he think he is?

"That's good to know." He takes a deep breath while looking down and when he looks back at me, his eyes are a lot softer and not so angry anymore and I calm down a bit. "I'm all for pushing limits, Anastasia, but what you did compromised your safety and you can't let that happen again. I can't even think about what would have happened is we didn't find you. For such a smart girl, that was a really stupid move. I have never been as angry as I was last night. I had to remind myself you are not mine to keep from giving you a proper spanking and believe me, you definitely need one." He gets up and walks to look out the window. "No one has ever made me that angry before and I've also never slept as well as I did last night… or at least this morning." He says as if he is speaking to himself and I remain quiet, unsure if I should respond to that. When he turns around I catch a glimpse of the confusion in his eyes before he puts his impassive mask back on. "You should eat, Anastasia." He says, but remains at the window.

"I'm not hungry. I'll get something to eat later." I say and get some more coffee.

Christian walks to the living room and comes back with an iPad. He clears the space in front of him and starts to work. "That will be fine as I have some work to catch up on; we will just wait here until later then." He explains with a smirk on his face and I wish I remember what it felt like to slap him last night. I would like to slap him right now.

After twenty minutes, Elliot peeks into the room to see me glaring at Christian, who is doing a remarkable job of ignoring me, and decides to rather leave us alone. Admitting defeat, I take a piece of toast and put some marmalade on with a small bit of yoghurt on the bowl next to my plate. As I eat the toast, I can see the smile on Christian's face.

"You better be reading an amusing e-mail, Mr. Grey." I tell him and he looks up to give me a smile that literally feels as if liquid fire replaced my blood. He is just too good looking for his own good.

"Actually, I'm reviewing a very boring spreadsheet. Why?" he asks innocently.

"Oh, just forget it. Tell me what you do for a living?" he initially looks amused until he realizes that I'm serious.

"You really don't know who I am, do you?" he asks.

"I know that your name is Christian Grey. You have a bother, Elliot , and a sister named Mia. Your mother, Grace, is a paediatrician, and your father, Carrick, is an attorney. Elliot is in construction and Mia is the Assistant Manager at a restaurant you own. You are business partners with Elena in the salons and Kate mentioned something about Grey Enterprises Holdings last night. Oh, and Jason Taylor is your CPO." I'm impressed with myself that I'm even able to recall all the information I gathered on him last night, but he doesn't look impressed, he looks… shocked. "Did I leave something out or did I get something wrong?"

"No, no, you remembered everything. It's just that when people are normally asked 'Who is Christian Grey?', that's not the answer they give. It's refreshing and also…" he stops himself and run his hand through his perfect hair before continuing, "Well, let's just say that I normally don't give out any information about myself to anyone. I can't believe that I told you all that after only seeing you for a second time last night." He actually made me curious now.

"What do people normally say when they are asked who you are?" I ask and he thinks about the answer for a while before getting a sad look in his eyes.

"It's the first time anyone has ever asked me a question like that. They would say that I'm ruthless in business, that I'm a control freak with an obsession for information. Most will include billionaire businessmen and others will say that I'm heartless." He answers with that same sad look and sad voice.

"Why would they say that you're heartless?" he seems kind and caring to me. Friendly at times and closed off in others, but definitely not heartless. I've seen heartless people in my life, and he definitely does not seem anything like that.

"Because they know me well," he puts back that emotionless expression, "Are you finished with your breakfast?" he asks as he close the iPad cover.

"Yes, thank you for breakfast and thank you again for last night… err, and this morning. We really should get going as we are planning on leaving for Seattle later. As we will only be living here for another week, we might as well pack as much as we can in the cars today. I would like to apologize again, especially for slapping you. That must have been something new for you?" I finally stop when he gets that strange look again.

"Yes, this trip to Portland was certainly filled with a lot of firsts for me. You should drive safely and I hope to see you again soon." He says as Elliot and Kate comes back into the room.

"Ana, we have to go. Are you done?" Kate asks with eyes focused on Christian.

"Yes, I was just getting ready to leave. Enjoy your weekend and thank you again for last night." Why I keep thanking them I don't know, but I still keep doing it.

"Ana, I invited Kate to my parent's house for dinner on Sunday. Please would you join us? We won't eat too late and Kate mentioned that you only need to be back before twelve on Monday to hand in your paper." Elliot says and Christian's head snaps to Elliot before he too looks at me, both waiting for an answer.

"Uhm… I… that would be great. Thank you for the invitation." I answer Elliot, but look at Christian to get his reaction and am disappointed to get no reaction at all. Well, as I said several times already, he is way out of my league. He probably even has a girlfriend. For some reason, the thought saddens me and I get up to leave.

I excuse myself and after gathering my things, I take another look at the bed that I shared with him. We could be friends… eventually, but not now. For now I have to stop myself from constantly thinking about him and start my new life in Seattle.

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**A/N: Please let me know what you think of this chapter. I really had fun writing it.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: If Christian is the way he is because of abuse and Elena, why is Elena the way she is? What happened to Elena? This story is not about Elena, but Ana meets Elena first and then saves both of them. Different circumstances, different events, but the same couple. **

**Hope you like it.**

_**Important: I do not own the Fifty Shades Trilogy or the characters. They belong to the very talented E.L. James.**_

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**Christian POV:**

I open my eyes after the most peaceful sleep I've ever had just to find the bed next to me empty. I quickly get up to take a shower and get dressed. I have to explain what happened as I can just imagine what she must be thinking.

When I get to the living room to see Anastasia and Elliot sitting all cosy discussing the events of last night, I'm immediately pissed off. I remind her of probably the most embarrassing part that Elliot seemed to have left out and immediate regret it when she buries her head in her hands. She must be feeling like shit and I just made her feel worse. After I get a cup of coffee, I go to apologize and see that she has left the room. Great… I chased her out of the room.

Reynolds arrived just before the girls got out of the showers and I go to put Anastasia's clothes on the bed with a short note that breakfast is ready. Several minutes later she walks into the room looking beautiful, but clearly not feeling well. I'm lost in my own thoughts, trying to figure out what to do. I cannot let her get close to me, but as I said to Elliot, I can't stand the thought of her getting close to someone else. I've confirmed last night that she is in fact single, and that surely makes her available to me… right?

"Morning Christian, did you sleep well?" she asks and I look up.

"I did, and you?" I answer politely, but that is just one more thing that is going through my mind. For the first time in… well, ever… I got a peaceful night's sleep. Not even a nightmare. I would write it off as a coincidence, but deep down, I know that's a lie. It's Anastasia and she brought as much chaos to my life yesterday as she brought peace to it.

"All things considered, actually good, thank you." Why can't I just be more like Elliot? He seems happy with his life and I know for a fact that order is one thing he certainly doesn't have. I wish I can be the kind of man that this woman deserves, but I just can't. I can't change my life and she does not look like the type that would go for a proposal like mine. John is going to be very busy this weekend.

"I would like to apologize for my behaviour last night and for being an inconvenience. You have no responsibility towards either of us, yet you came to our rescue at three in the morning." She says to us before turning to face me, "I'm sorry for insulting you and… the other stuff. I can assure you it's not my normal behaviour. I don't know what got into me." I look at her while thinking of everything that happened to me since I arrived in Portland, but the thing that pisses me off the most is her complete and utter disregard for her own safety. How she got to this age on her own in Portland is a mystery to me.

Oh, I know exactly what got into you… twenty seven shots between the two of you. What _you_ did was very irresponsible, Anastasia. You put yourself in danger and by getting behind the wheel; you also put Kate in danger. I don't care about insulting me, although I have to admit that I've never been treated so disrespectfully. Do you make a habit of drinking well above your limit?" I would expect her to look remorseful or look down, but the insolent woman looks me straight in the eye. It does not slip my notice that we are suddenly alone in the room.

"Actually, apart from a couple of cocktails or a glass of wine, I never really drink." She answers, trying to control that temper of hers, which is good as I'm trying my best to control mine and she does not want me to lose my temper while she has a hangover.

"That's good to know." I'm pleased that she normally don't drink as much as last night and since it was a celebration, I'm sure it is allowed, "I'm all for pushing limits, Anastasia, but what you did compromised your safety and you can't let that happen again. I can't even think about what would have happened is we didn't find you. For such a smart girl, that was a really stupid move. I have never been as angry as I was last night. I had to remind myself you are not mine to keep from giving you a proper spanking and believe me, you definitely need one." That actually makes my chest feel tight for some reason. I want her to me mine, but I have no idea how to make that happen. "No one has ever made me that angry before and I've also never slept as well as I did last night… or at least this morning." If she heard the last part, she doesn't show it. I pull myself together turn to face her again, "You should eat, Anastasia."

"I'm not hungry. I'll get something to eat later." She answers and that is just unacceptable. She will not leave here until I know that she has at least eaten properly.

I fetch my iPad and start reading my e-mails. I might as well get some work done while we wait. "That will be fine as I have some work to catch up on; we will just wait here until later then." In the corner of my eye I can see that she is fuming, but I will win… I always do. Even hung over, she is sexy when she gets upset. She bites on that full lip of hers, probably to keep the angry words from spilling out of her mouth. Her cheeks are flushed just a bit and it makes me wonder what her cheeks will look like flushed after sex. I adjust slightly and even with her narrow eyes, I can see the fire burning in them.

When I get to the thirteenth e-mail, she takes some toast and yoghurt and I smile. I'm glad to see that she has it in her to give up every once in a while.

"You better be reading an amusing e-mail, Mr. Grey." She says and I give her my best smile. Seems she can show some respect too. There might be hope for us yet. Us… what the hell am I thinking?

"Actually, I'm reviewing a very boring spreadsheet. Why?" I ask innocently and she looks like she could slap me now if she had the liquid courage she had last night.

"Oh, just forget it. Tell me what you do for a living?" At first I thought she was joking, but when she sat there waiting for me to answer, I realized that she is actually serious. I think this is the second time in my entire life I had to answer that question.

"You really don't know who I am, do you?" I ask just to make sure.

"I know that your name is Christian Grey. You have a bother, Elliot , and a sister named Mia. Your mother, Grace, is a paediatrician, and your father, Carrick, is an attorney. Elliot is in construction and Mia is the Assistant Manager at a restaurant you own. You are business partners with Elena in the salons and Kate mentioned something about Grey Enterprises Holdings last night. Oh, and Jason Taylor is your CPO." She says as if that was the answer I was looking for. Funny thing is, if I think about it, that is exactly who I am. CEO of GEH is what I do, not who I am. Funny that I never looked at it that way and yet, this woman who has met me for the second time yesterday, sees me exactly like she is supposed to. When I don't respond, she shifts slightly, "Did I leave something out or get something wrong?"

"No, no, you remembered all the important details. It's just that when people are normally asked 'Who is Christian Grey?', that's not the answer they give. It's refreshing and also…" alarming that I gave her all the information. Not to mention comforting to know that she will spend time with me without expecting anything from me. "Well, let's just say that I normally don't give out any information about myself to anyone. I can't believe that I told you all that after only seeing you for a second time yesterday."

"What do people normally say when they are asked who you are?" Now there is a question that I never had to answer before and I actually had to try and think how other people really see me. It makes me sad as it is just another reminder that I should leave this girl alone.

"It's the first time anyone has ever asked me a question like that. They would say that I'm ruthless in business, that I'm a control freak with an obsession for information. Most will include billionaire businessmen and others will say that I'm heartless." And I would say unworthy… especially of someone like you.

"Why would they say that you're heartless?"

"Because they know me well," I respond coldly and pull myself together, "Are you finished with your breakfast?"

"Yes, thank you for breakfast and thank you again for last night… err, and this morning. We really should get going as we are planning on leaving for Seattle later. As we will only be living here for another week, we might as well pack as much as we can in the cars today. I would like to apologize again, especially for slapping you. That must have been something new for you?" Oh Ms. Steele, I could actually make a very long list of all the firsts I had in the last twenty four hours. It was obviously the first time I was slapped by a furious woman. The first time I shared a bed with anyone, let alone a woman. The first time I had a casual dinner with a girl and her friends. The first time I danced in a club with a girl. The first time to get puked on. Oh, let's not forget the first time a woman told me to go fuck myself. If Anastasia knew what I could do to her body, she would be offering to fuck me instead of telling me to fuck myself. There are some more, but these seem to stand out the most.

"Yes, this trip to Portland was certainly filled with a lot of firsts for me. You should drive safely and I hope to see you again soon." Elliot and Kate come in as Kate is ready to go. I really want to tell this girl that I have an attitude of my own and don't need hers, but in order to come across as nice, I just keep my mouth shut.

"Ana, we have to go. Are you done?" Kate asks.

"Yes, I was just getting ready to leave. Enjoy your weekend and thank you again for last night." Ana says as she starts to get up.

"Ana, I invited Kate to my parent's house for dinner on Sunday. Please would you join us? We won't eat too late and Kate mentioned that you only need to be back before twelve on Monday to hand in your paper." I should just leave him here. What the hell is he thinking? I haven't decided if I should just stay away and he invites her to a family dinner.

"Uhm… I… that would be great. Thank you for the invitation." I look at her with a blank face, but inside I really can't wait. Like I said, John will be busy this weekend helping me figure out what the hell is going on with me.

After they leave, we grab our stuff to head back to Seattle ourselves. When we land in Seattle, I take out my wallet to get the access card to the roof access. When I open it a piece of paper falls out and I pick it up.

_Christian,_

_Thank you for everything._

_Ana._

It's a short note, but it means so much that she took the time to write it for me. I fold it up carefully and put it back into my wallet. In the penthouse, Taylor is waiting for me, but Elliot decides to come in for a coffee first.

"Taylor, you missed the best trip ever. And I mean EVER. Best day of my life, man." Elliot says as he walks past Taylor while I'm looking for something to throw against his head.

"Shut up, Elliot. Go get us some coffee." I say and turn to Taylor.

"Anything I should know about, Sir?" He asks.

"Yes, your boss was assaulted by a hundred and ten pound, five foot one, pissed little girl. Then insulted. Then…" Elliot starts and I close my eyes to count to ten.

"Elliot! Shut. The. Fuck. Up." I spit out before taking turning back to Taylor.

"Nothing I couldn't handle, Taylor. Have you made arrangements yet for tomorrow night?" I'm still trying to figure out how to get to see her tomorrow as Sunday seems too far away.

"Not yet, Sir. I received the location from Ray a couple of minutes ago and will try to get hold of Ms. Steele as soon as possible." He is being very evasive, but maybe it is because Elliot is in hearing distance.

"What is the location?" I ask and if I didn't know any better, I would swear he is trying not to smile.

"One you are familiar with, Sir. Just past the market place." He says quickly while looking over my shoulder.

"I see. I think that I might join you. It is after all a member's only club. That woman has no regard for her own safety and not that I don't trust you, you know that I do, but I would like to ensure she gets the information what she needs without anyone bothering her." I say and this time he does smile.

"How was the trip, Sir? Did everything go as planned?" The swift change in topic tells me that he wants confirmation for whatever he was told.

"Elliot did what he needed to do. The rest was… different, but nothing that put me in danger and thank you for sending Reynolds to meet us at the hotel." I say and turn to go hit Elliot, effectively dismissing Taylor.

I know that he knows exactly what I did and I wouldn't expect anything less. That is the reason why he is employed as head of my personal security. He would know about a security risk without being present. For that reason, I know that he knows that Ms. Steele was with me last night and probably this morning too, but neither will openly discuss it which is just fine by me.

"Elliot, can you please try and keep the events of the past 24 hours to yourself? It was an unusual night and I don't want anyone to know what happened. Not even my staff, Elliot." I say as I take my coffee and stand on the other side of the breakfast bar. I'm anxious to get to the office and get some control back. Nothing makes me feel as powerful and in control as stepping through the doors of Grey House. I should have at least thirty hours of normal until tomorrow night. When Anastasia is around, nothing seems normal.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk… has anyone ever told you that you have a short temper?" Elliot tries to lighten the mood.

"No one would dare and I don't have a short temper, Elliot, I have a low tolerance for bullshit." I grumble and he seems to be in full-on Elliot mode.

"Yes, low tolerance for bullshit with an attitude problem," I'm praying for patience.

"I don't have an attitude problem. If anyone has a problem with my attitude, that's not my problem. Now, stop messing around and promise that you will keep your mouth shut."

"Christian, you don't have to worry about a thing. I will not tell anyone a thing about what happened last night. I have to run though as I'm meeting a client to sign off his office complex. Thank you again for going with me." He says and walks to the door. Before he leaves, he just had to piss me off, "Last night was anyway boring compared to the early hours of this morning." And with that he is gone.

**Ana POV:**

We arrived in Seattle late last night, for which I'm glad. There was no time to talk to Kate yet about what happened. Between the packing and driving down in separate cars, it gave me time to think, but no time to talk either. Apart from a slight possibility of a friendship with Christian, there will definitely not be anything else. As Kate and Elliot seem quite taken with each other, the chances of us seeing each other from time to time are good. Now I just had to get him out of my mind and out of my dreams, but ever since Thursday night, I find myself thinking about him constantly.

Giving up on trying to get some more sleep, I go to the kitchen to see if coffee is at all a possibility. Luckily Kate thought to bring everything we need to at least get some coffee. When the coffee smell fills the room, Kate comes out looking much better than yesterday. A hangover definitely does not suit either of us.

"Good Morning. How did you sleep?" she asks while removing the plastic from a couch to sit on. It's a good thing the flat we're renting in Portland was furnished and we had to buy new furniture for our new apartment. Maya is moving in with us, but will only be here later today with Jose as both of them had plans for last night.

"Good, but it will take some time getting used to the new bed. Did you sleep well?" I ask.

"With dreams filled with Elliot Grey, who would not be able to sleep? I should actually thank you for introducing me to him. If you had not met Christian last weekend, which you kept from me, I wouldn't have met Elliot. Speaking of which," she takes her coffee from me and I didn't think that she would get distracted with that, but at least I tried, "Elliot tells me that Christian is quite infatuated with you. In fact, he said that he has never seen his brother act like this at all, never mind with a girl. He also thought that Christian might be gay, but as I said last night, we all know now that that is definitely not true. When you slapped him last night I thought he was going to kill you, and I mean it. He looked absolutely murderous. I was glad to see you survived the night alone with him. Pity you were passed out really… with a body like that sleeping right next to you. Oh my god, and the two of you looked hot together on the dance floor. With the look he gave you, I swear he would have fucked you right there if you were alone. Everybody was staring, even Elliot. He likes you, Steele." I open my mouth to tell her that I think she is wrong, but she puts up her hand, "Argue all you want, but Christian Grey likes you." When she finally shuts up, I feel like going right back to sleep.

"Kate, we are from two very different worlds. I'm a twenty two year old virgin and he is… well, probably the sexiest man on the planet. And let's not forget that he is a billionaire. There are hundreds of sexy, experienced woman panting after him. Apart from that, he has very high walls built around him and I think it would be next to impossible to break them down, much like Elena…" And suddenly everything clicks into place. Holy freaking cow! Why did I not see this before?

"Ana, is something wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost. Ana?" I hear Kate, but all the puzzle pieces are starting to fall into place. Strong, confident, rich, isolated, controlling to name but a few. That is all Christian Grey. "Ana, you are starting to scare me."

"Uhm… no… everything's fine. I was just thinking about something." I need some time to think and Kate will not leave me alone. I glance at the clock and it's still too early for a store to be open, but I try it anyway. "I think I will get dressed and go for a run. I'll get some breakfast on my way back." I leave the room before she can say anything and when I walk towards the front door minutes later, she is already in the shower. Perfect.

When I get down to the street, I realise that a run is exactly what I needed. I take my iPod out of my pocket and put the earplugs in my ears. I select the first song, one that reminds me so much of Kate that I named it Kate's song, Sexy Bitch by David Guetta with Akon. As I run, I try to forget everything and just clear my head, but the voices in my head telling me that I'm right, is not going away.

"_The dominant like to exercise control over the submissive."_

"_He feels in control and powerful to have a woman submit to him. During sessions or scenes, he is in control of her body, her pleasure and her pain."_

"…_hard limits and soft limits…"_

"… _if a rule is broken, the submissive is punished." _

"_The lightest form of punishment is spanking and the most severe is being beaten with a cane."_

"_I'm all for pushing limits, Anastasia,"_

"_I had to remind myself you are not mine to keep from giving you a proper spanking."_

I stop dead in my tracks as I realize what was before me all this time. He fits the profile I have in my head perfectly and it should have been obvious to me.

_Christian Grey is a Dominant._

Ironic actually if you think about it. Twenty two year old virgin falls for twenty eight year old Dominant with a possible string of Submissives. He is not only out of my league; I'm not even his type and we definitely have very different lifestyles.

After about two miles, I had more than enough exercise for the day and am ready to go home now. When I turn, I come face to face to the last two men I want to see right now. One, because I'm pissed that he is in a lifestyle I have no interest in and the other one because he will be my protection when I visit a club of the lifestyle I have interest in. Nonetheless, I take out my earphones and look them straight in the eye.

"Good morning, gentlemen."

"Good morning, Anastasia. Running this early in the morning?" Christian asks.

"Yes, I came to realize some things this morning that was right in front of me the entire time and it was… upsetting." He frowns and I rub my forehead with my hand, "Something that seemed out of my reach was confirmed this morning as definitely impossible. I thought a run would help to clear my head." I say as I look Christian in the eye.

"I'm sure it's not as bad as you imagine it to be. You should maybe get a second opinion and not upset yourself unnecessarily." Really, if I didn't know any better, I would think this man is a mind reader.

"Thank you, but I think I have enough information on the subject to come to an informed conclusion on my own. Who knows, maybe today will prove to support my findings." If he suspects what I'm talking about, this will hit a nerve. Sure enough, I see a small flicker of, what I think is anger before he pulls himself together.

"If you need another opinion, feel free to call me. I'll be happy to assist by trying to clear things up for you. Heading back home?"

"Not just yet. I need to stop for breakfast first. The apartment is still empty and we need to eat. Last night we arrived too late to do anything other than sleep." When his eyes narrow and grow hard, I quickly change the topic. What is it with him and food? "I do have another appointment with Elena today before my hair appointment. My paper is due on Monday and I still need a couple of things."

"Oh yes, your paper. You never did tell me what subject it is on." He wants me to say it and between Taylor and Elena, I'm sure he already knows so I might as well say it.

"BDSM and the reasons people get into that lifestyle, but nothing about the actual… activities and… implements." I almost whisper and even though I have nothing to be ashamed about, I'm sure my cheeks are red right now. It's not like I'm the one with something to hide. "It's for a paper on severe human behaviour." He looks totally unfazed, of course he knew.

"Very interesting topic." He says and looks to Taylor before looking back to me.

"There is a problem with the arrangements for tonight, Ms. Steele," Taylor says with his impassive expression. "It seems that you need to be accompanied by a member to gain entrance to the club. There are no exceptions and unless you are accompanied by a member, you will not be allowed to enter. Mrs. Lincoln unfortunately has plans which she can't cancel and won't be able to accompany you."

"Oh, I didn't think about that. I don't really need to go, I just thought it would be interesting." I say, but I'm really disappointed. I wanted to see what the people in this lifestyle dress like and what places they go to. I couldn't care less about what they actually do there. Christian is running his hands through his hair. He seems to do that a lot.

"Anastasia," oh my, I've not seen him this uncomfortable yet and at this rate he will be bold before he is thirty, "if you really want to go… uhm… I guess I can take you." He offers reluctantly and he looks sort of ashamed to have to admit this to me. I actually like this look on him. Somehow it makes him look younger.

"_Of course_ you are a member." My voice is dripping with sarcasm as I honestly did not expect this twist today. Even though I'm trying not to, I'm also getting upset when I think of the things he does to women, not that it's any of my business. "Thank you, I would like to go, if you don't already have plans." At least I'll be spending time with him, even if it is out of curiosity.

"Good, I'll pick you up at eight. Would you mind wearing a dress that is… not too short? Better yet, don't wear a dress." I glare at him as I'm not one of his submissives that he gets to control, but he explains quickly, "You would not want to be too… revealing in a club like that." Oh, well, that makes sense.

"Since you put it like that, no problem. I will see you tonight, but I really need to get some breakfast now. I think the last time we ate was at the Heathman yesterday with everything going on. Bye guys." Since I'm leaving pissed with my suspicions now confirmed and unwanted visions filling my head, I might as well leave him angry too and as he seems to have an issue with not eating properly, that worked like a charm and he is well and truly fuming when I casually jog away.

Right on time, I arrive at Esclava. Elena is busy assisting one of the hair dressers and I wait in reception. She does not look too happy about something. My phone signals a text and I take it out, expecting it to be from Kate since she has been hounding me all day about joining them tonight.

_'Anastasia, would you like to get dinner tonight before we visit the club? At least I will be sure you have eaten properly. Christian'_

Dinner… alone… at night.

_'Christian, I don't think that's a good idea. What about lunch later? Ana'_

At least it wasn't a refusal, just a change in proposed time.

_'Unfortunately I already have a lunch appointment, but I really need to talk to you, Ana. Please.' _

_'Pick me up at 6pm. Ana'_

I press send and slip my phone back in my bag.

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**A/N: I know everyone thought they would only see each other at the dinner, but there is going to be a lot of things happening before then.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Thank you for the readers following my story and also for the reviews.**

**Hope you like this chapter.**

_**Important: I do not own the Fifty Shades Trilogy or the characters. They belong to the very talented E.L. James.**_

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**Ana POV:**

Before I have time to contemplate what Christian wants to discuss, Elena walks up to me with a smile, but visibly upset.

"Anastasia, it's so nice to see you again," she says with an air kiss to each cheek.

"Hello, Elena. I'm sorry if this is an inconvenience today. It seems like you are very busy."

"Oh darling, I never complain about being busy. I do have something I need to take care of real quick as one of the hairdressers made a bit of a mistake, actually a big one. Would you mind letting Franco do your hair first and then we can talk for a bit afterwards?" she asks, already summonsing who I assume is Franco.

"Not a problem. You do what you need to do. I have no plans for this morning."

"Then everything will work out. This is Franco and he will be looking after you. You don't need to worry, _he_ doesn't make mistakes." She points to the obviously gay man next to her. He is observing me like I'm a painting, look at me from the right, then from the left. One hand is on his hip and the other holding a comb and tapping it against his lips.

"Ana, what shall we do with you today?" he asks with his hands now in my hair.

"I thought that maybe just a trim and perhaps some layers, but definitely not too short." I say, but he seems deep in thought.

"What about a shade darker, Anastasia? You know that to color your hair makes you feel like a new person, even better than buying a pair of new shoes."

We decide to go with the darker color and layers and two hours later I'm looking at a new me in the mirror. Okay, still me, just a whole of a lot prettier. As we finish up, Elena comes to get me and we go to her office.

"Ana, I'm so sorry for keeping you waiting. I could just kill that hairdresser who screwed up what she was supposed to do. Women are sensitive about their hair and don't take kindly to getting anything other than what they asked for. I don't know how many times I have to tell these people. But enough about that, how are you doing today?" she asks while indicating for me to take a seat.

"I'm doing well, thank you. Had a bit of a rough week, but it will get better next week since I have nothing to do other than handing in my assignment and to graduate. How are you doing?" I ask and she looks taken back with the sincerity of my question.

"Good. This week was… interesting. Did some thinking, but haven't decided on anything yet. Apart from that, it was just work and sleep. What would you like to discuss today? I do have a lunch meeting, but there is still plenty of time."

We spent the next hour going over the exact relationship between the Dominant and the Submissive. The fact that the Submissive receives "gifts" and are "taken care of" makes me think of them as high end sex workers. Surely they see that they provide sex in return for something. No wonder these relationships are kept secret. It is not done in a committed, romantic relationship with the person they love… or at least like, and one partner is awarded gifts and money.

She tells me about the different forms of punishment and what the reason will be for selecting the correct punishment. When she speaks about orgasm denial, I draw a blank. I mean, the best way to refuse an orgasm to me will be to just not have sex at all, but that's just me. Apparently it is a form of punishment and used quite often. The word anal fisting immediately made me flinch and the description made me nauseous. Who the hell would do that and why?

Then she gets to the correct way to address the Dominant if you're a Submissive and I had to smile. I mean 'Yes, Sir', 'Please, Sir' my ass. When she mentioned 'Master' and 'Mistress', I burst out laughing and she actually laughed with me. It just seems so ridiculous to me and I can't get why woman would agree to this shit. It must be damn expensive gifts that are bestowed upon them.

The best, or worst, part for me was when Elena explained the body language of the Submissive. She is not to look the Dominant in the eye and keep her head down… and get this… kneel at the damn door. What the hell?

"Elena that just seems… I don't know… degrading."

"Ana, for the ladies' that enjoys this, it's quite a turn on to submit to the Dominant. Everything they do is to please their Dom and they like it." She waves her hand and smiles that rare smile of hers, "Oh, don't look so appalled, it's really not as bad as you imagine it to be and definitely not degrading. Let me show you that it's not degrading, uncomfortable or bad. Kneel beside the door." She says and at first I want to say no, but it's just us so why not? I walk over and kneel beside the door. "Good. Now sit up straight and put your hands on your knees with your head bowed." I do what she says and just as I bow my head, the door opens and I close my eyes, praying that it's not my dad who called while I was getting my hair done to ask me to lunch.

It doesn't take long however to know exactly who is standing next to me. Apart from the fact that I would know that smell anywhere after having it on my body for hours, I can literally feel his presence close to me. I think I would have preferred it to be Ray. I'm still thinking of what to do next when he bends down next to me.

"Practicing, Ms. Steele?" he asks and I don't have to look up to know that he's smiling. _Bastard._ At least he has the decency to extend a hand to help me up, and when I'm up, I look him in the eye and sure enough, the bastard thinks this is funny.

"In your dreams, Mr. Grey." I walk past him to grab my purse and then walk over to Elena to say bye.

"Elena, thank you so much for your time. I see your lunch date is here and I already have everything I need. Please let me take you to lunch tomorrow to properly thank you." I say while trying to ignore the presence of Christian. Leave it to me to embarrass myself in front of him again.

"Uhm… that would be great, thank you. You have my number, just let me know where and what time. I will be free from about twelve. Enjoy the rest of your weekend, Ana." With a kiss to my cheek, I turn to leave and all trace of humour is gone from Christian's face.

"Enjoy your lunch, Mr. Grey." I say with a sweet smile and just before I reach the door, I get a greeting from him.

"Goodbye, Anastasia." This man has more mood swings than a pregnant woman. I mean seriously, he was joking when he came in and now he is all moody.

**Christian POV:**

I think Taylor is still recovering from this morning. After my little run in with Anastasia, I think I tried to run her out of my system. It didn't feel like I was running for almost an hour and a half, but that's what I did and afterwards I still didn't feel better.

She knows now that I'm practicing BDSM and obviously she knows more than I would have wanted her to. The question is what does she think of me now? I thought I would be fine with simply running into her from time to time, but that's not true. I'm not sure what my reaction would be if I were to run into her weeks from now with someone else in her life.

Bottom line is that I want her. Even after the disastrous Thursday night, I still want her… if not more now.

John is coming over before my lunch with Elena. If I'm going to have a talk with Ms. Steele tonight, I need to know what the hell to do and Elena needs to tell me exactly what she has been telling her. I don't want to be caught off guard and let her slip through my fingers. Losing her to someone else is just not an option for me.

"Christian, you seem better than the last time I saw you. How are you doing?" he asks sitting on the other side of my desk at Escala.

"Worse, John. Is it possible to want to kill someone, and I really do mean kill, and protect her at the same time?" Even though I want her, thinking about that night still makes me upset.

"For people in loving relationships, yes. A relationship consists of two people with very different personalities, backgrounds and believes. You know the saying that opposites attract? That is entirely true. Most relationships consist of two people who are direct opposites from each other. If you for instance were to meet your opposite, and I think you might just have, she will drive you insane until both of you learn to compromise. I am curious though, what could Anastasia have done to bring such strong emotions out of you?" he asks with the tablet out already to make notes. He rarely does that with me as the past couple of years have been the same ongoing issues, so it makes for a nice change. Just another sign that Anastasia is in fact changing my life.

"Do you want the short version or the long version?" I ask.

"Since it's Saturday, why don't you just give me a quick rundown?" Even the short version won't be quick, but since I pay him by the hour, I can take as much time as I need.

"As I told you on Thursday, I went to Portland with Elliot and naturally ran into Anastasia while they were having dinner. It was her with four of her friends. Elliot and I joined them and dinner was very pleasant, surprisingly so. I've never had a casual dinner before, with the exception of family dinners. Anyway, after dinner we went to the club across the street, which just happened to be owned by GEH. We had some drinks and I told her about my family, that I was adopted and general things. She in turn told me that her father died and that she has her stepfathers' name because it's the only father she knows. That blood relation is not what defines family. She wants to become a social worker. Her mother has been married _four times_, I'm no relationship expert, but that's a lot of marriages in one lifetime. She doesn't read newspapers because it only contains things that already happened and can't be changed, business and sport. Therefore, she had no idea who I am. When I asked her the next morning if she really has no idea who I am, she told me the facts about myself that has nothing to do with what I do for a living, it was… refreshing and it also got me thinking. But it was that happened during the night that almost drove me to homicide." I didn't even realize that I started pacing until John pointed it out.

"Christian, you are going to ruin your carpet at this rate. That is a lot of information and I can see why it would be refreshing for someone to see you for who you are and not for what you do. What did she do during the course of the night?" he asks and I'm sure that he already has the wrong picture in his head.

"Well, after we talked, we danced and it was kind of intimate, so intimate that I just grabbed Elliot and stormed out. I drove out of Portland before Elliot told me to stop and then we went back to the hotel. I went to bed after I checked in on Anastasia. She was still at the club and I told the manager to take her some water and to look after her. My phone rang at three in the morning and I immediately thought something was wrong and was I right. It was Anastasia. I forgot my jacket at the club and she found a business card in my wallet. She was talking to me on the phone, John… while driving… _drunk_. I wanted to punish her for that alone, but then she proceeded tell me that I was rude and that money obviously don't buy manners." I look towards John and as I thought, I shocked the good doctor. I don't allow anyone to talk to me like that and if they do, they certainly don't get away with it.

"I can see why she would tell you that you were rude. You left so quickly that you forgot your jacket. She must have thought that she did something wrong."

"I haven't thought of it like that, but we were dancing? What could she think she did wrong?" I ask him as I can't see how she could think that.

"Christian, you were both having a great time from what I understand and then you left without even a poor excuse for doing so. It would be natural for her to assume that she was the problem. I'm proud of her for standing up to you. You do come across as rude, especially when you are stressed or upset and no one ever calls you out on it."

"John, she told me I was rude in the same conversation that she told me to go fuck myself. They were lost, due to their condition and I told her to stay where they were and we will come and get them, to which she told me to leave her alone they will get home themselves. We tracked them to where they were sitting beside the road, trying to read a map on their phones. I went up to her window and bend down to tell them that neither of them is in any condition to drive and she slapped me… across my face. Then she got out and asked me if I was fucking insane for scaring her and almost giving her a heart attack. I asked her to calm down and she said that she wanted an apology first. At three in the morning, I would have given anything to get back into bed as I was exhausted. I told her I was sorry and then she asked what I was sorry for and I lost it. I asked her to please get into the car and she actually tried to get back into her car. I was at that stage already planning my outfit for her funeral. I was beyond furious. She turned around and apologized to herself on my behalf and then accepted the apology. That was sort of funny and I would have laughed if I was not so upset. I got fed up and picked her up to carry her to my car and then she threw up on me. All over my back. I've never been so frustrated and irritated, not to mention pissed off. I took her back to the hotel and cleaned her up before putting her in my bed. I got into the bed with her and stared at her as I fell asleep. My hand was between us and she put her hand over mine and even in her sleep there was a spark between us. I got to get some sleep just as the sun came up." I finish with my head in my hands. I'm exhausted just thinking about it again.

"That was quite an interesting chain of events. I'm proud of you for keeping calm and looking after her instead of killing or punishing her." I can hear in his voice that he is struggling not to laugh, so I look up and sure enough, he thinks this is funning. "It is clear that you care about this girl. If she was a sub, she would not have been able to sit for a week or her contract would have been terminated. The fact that you still took care of her, when you were that angry at her, says a lot. You will have to decide where to go from here, Christian. She will clearly not be your submissive. If that wasn't clear before Thursday, it should be now. Taking that into consideration, the only other alternative is a normal relationship unless you don't want any relationship at all. Have you considered telling her about your preferences?" At that I want to laugh.

"She knows. She figured it out herself and made vague comments about it this morning and I confirmed it for her. Not directly, but still a confirmation."

"Well, then you are halfway there already. Whatever you tell her won't be a surprise and all that's left is for you to decide what you want and for her to decide if she wants the same. Talk to her and see if you can compromise. I know you are used to getting your way in all things, but you will not get that with Anastasia." He gets up as if to leave. I pay him over two hundred dollars an hour to tell me what I already know?

"Is that it?" I'm not sure what more I want, but I don't feel that he should leave yet.

"Christian, relax and enjoy spending time with her. See what happens and call me when you lose control or feel overwhelmed." With that he leaves and I'm left on my own. Lunch with Elena will be in a couple of hours only, so I go to the study for work.

After getting Anastasia to join me for dinner, I start to do some work on the shipping yard in Europe as well as look at some of the finer details of the shipping yard in Taiwan. If we could get both, it will be great for GEH. If I had to pick one, I will have to say that the best one is the one in Taiwan. It seems to be less red tape as well. When Taylor knocks at the door, I know it's time to go see Elena. Whatever she says won't have any effect on my decision. I know Elena and she will start with her love is for fools speech that I've been hearing since I was fifteen. She will then continue with showing me all the reasons why my current life is perfect and end with suggesting that I take a new sub as soon as possible.

When I get to Esclava, I walk right to the back as Bonnie is busy with a customer. I'm certainly not waiting for her to finish helping anyone. I open the door and realize that Anastasia's goal in life is indeed to kill me and I should stay away from her if I want to have a long life, even if it will be boring after meeting her.

She is kneeling at the door in the same position that my submissives are always waiting for me in the playroom. The only exception is that Anastasia is fully clothed. Her hair was cut a bit shorter, but to my relieve not too short. It is definitely a shade or two darker and will bring out those beautiful blue eyes even more. It was blow dried and is falling straight over her shoulders without the slight curl it usually has. I must say that I do approve.

Telling myself that she is not a submissive, makes no difference to the fact that I am extremely turned on right now. It would be unfair to expect me not to be with her looking like that. The only thing to make this perfect is if she were to look up to me from that position, even though it's not allowed for subs, it will please me. I imagine her in the same position and naked, sucking on my dick with her hands tied behind her back. I can see Elena watching me carefully in the corner of my eye. I'm never taken off guard, ever, but for a second or two I'm not sure of what to do.

But Anastasia is not a sub and should not be kneeling on the floor. I've gone soft, I know, but this just looks all wrong. I decide to go for teasing her to break the tension I see in her shoulders, so I bend down and extend a hand to help her up.

"Practicing, Ms. Steele?" I ask when I get closer to her level. She gets up and looks me straight in the eye as always, if she is embarrassed, she is surely not showing it. I would like to know from Elena how showing her this shit is useful for her paper.

"In your dreams, Mr. Grey." Oh, Ms. Steele, you have no idea what I dream about doing to you.

She walks past me to get her things and then back to Elena. I watch in shock as she thanks Elena for her time and how Elena agrees to have lunch with her tomorrow. Elena only has lunch with a handful of people and two of them are Grace and I. Surely Anastasia has not gotten to Elena that much. I wonder what they will discuss during lunch as Anastasia should have enough information for her paper already.

"Enjoy your lunch, Mr. Grey." I hear her sweet voice and it takes me another couple of seconds to try and work out what happened with the Elena I know.

"Goodbye, Anastasia." I say absentmindedly to at least say something before she leaves, but my eyes are focused on Elena.

When Anastasia closes the door behind her, I sit down where she would have sat and lock my hands together.

"Hello, Elena. I apologize for interrupting your appointment with Anastasia. Did everything go as planned?" I ask. Elena pulls herself together and sits back down.

"Christian, I weren't expecting you yet. We were finished long ago and were just discussing some things that were not actually meant for her paper. She could not wrap her head around the mannerism of a submissive and I was trying to show her that it's not as bad as she thinks it is. But enough about that, I'm ready to go if you are." She says as she gets up. I did not miss the fondness in her eyes when she was talking about Anastasia.

I ordered lunch in advance as we usually have the same meals and it arrives shortly after we sit down. During the meal, I try not to think or discuss Anastasia as I would prefer to have her full attention.

"I released Clifford," Elena says matter-of-factly and my head snaps up.

"Did he do something wrong? It's not like you to release a sub after such a short time. It's been what? A month?" This makes no sense and when she simply shrugs I lean forward with narrow eyes. "What has gotten into you lately?"

"Nothing. He simply did not do it for me anymore so I decided that maybe it was time to take a break. I have some things to take care of at the moment and don't really have much time anyway. So, where did you go on Thursday? Andrea mentioned that you left Seattle, but would not say anything else." Andrea knows better than to discuss my whereabouts with anyone, including my family.

"I went to Portland," I say taking my wine glass and sitting back.

"Portland?"

"That's what I said, Elena. I went there with Elliot, who had business to attend to and ended up spending some time with Anastasia on Thursday evening." I say and wait for her response. Elena continues to drink her wine and avoiding eye contact, so I continue, "She spent the night with me at the Heathman." Well, not in the way she must be thinking, but I wanted a response and that certainly did the trick.

"Ana… Anastasia Steele… spent the night with you at the hotel… in your room?" For the first time I cannot figure out if she is angry or surprised, maybe a little bit of both.

"Actually, it was in my bed, but yes… in my room." I prefer dealing with people showing emotions that I can relate to and anger is one emotion I'm very familiar with and angry Elena is easy to deal with. I'm starting to suspect that there is more to Elena's _'protection'_ of Anastasia, than the fact that she likes her.

"How could you do that after I asked you not to? I told you she was not in the lifestyle. I told you that you cannot have her. Why didn't you just listen? Why do you have to be so stubborn? Do you know how close I am to getting back at that bastard? I've spent years… _years_ Christian… trying to get information on him and now you… I did not come this far just to lose again Christian." She practically screams and I'm suddenly very glad for Taylor's foresight to ensure a private dining area. She confirmed my suspicion that there is more to this thing with Anastasia than I thought.

"What are you talking about, Elena? What do you want with Anastasia?"

"Nothing you need to be concerned about. I had to provide Ana with information on BDSM and in return, her father will provide me with information on a man I have been looking for." She says calmly again, but I can see she is starting to lose her cool when she starts to talk about Ana again. "You will not get Ana involved in BDSM. You will leave her alone and forget she ever existed. Take a new sub. Do whatever you have to do, but leave Ana alone. Do you understand me?"

"Elena, I am not the one involving her in anything. I'm not the one showing her how to be fucking sub. That girl doesn't have a submissive bone in her delectable body. I don't even think she knows the definition of the word. Now will you listen to me?" I ask her calmly, but that just pisses her off more.

"Then why? Why are you perusing her if you know she does not have the same preferences as you? Why don't you just get a new girl? Just leave her alone. I'm not playing games, Christian. Leave. Anastasia. Alone." She stands and slams on the table.

"Why are you trying to keep her from me?" I'm screaming back now because she is not even willing to listen to me.

"Because she is too good for you!"

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**A/N: Please review.**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Thank you for the readers following my story and also for the reviews.**

**Due to your awesome response, I'm giving you another chapter this weekend. Just a few answers to some questions:**

**Yes, I'm still going on with Eight months and eight days and will update shortly.**

**No, Ana is not Elena's daughter and a lot more Ana/Elena time coming up. It would have been an awesome twist though. **

**I'm unfortunately not giving away what happened to Elena or who she is looking for as she will tell Ana bits and pieces over the next couple of weeks.**

_**Important: I do not own the Fifty Shades Trilogy or the characters. They belong to the very talented E.L. James.**_

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**Christian POV:**

"Because she is too good for you!" It takes both of us a minute to realize what Elena just said. As realization hits us, we both sit down and stare at each other. She is the first one to speak, "She's too good for anyone in this lifestyle. She's good and kind and deserves a happily ever after. She does not deserve what you have to offer." She says while looking down before she looks back at me, "I'm sorry, Christian. But she is. She's never been in love and looks forward to finding love. Someday she will find someone who is able to give her more and who will take care of her for more than a couple of months. Find another girl, please." She says with not only a soft tone, but soft eyes that look straight into my shocked eyes.

No one has ever been good enough for me. Elena is always trying to protect me from everything that she might perceive as danger. Now… _now_ she decides I'm not good enough. Well, fuck that! I might not be good enough, but I've decided today that I'll try. For Anastasia, I will try to be good enough. I know that for Ana, just the fact that I'm actually trying, will be good enough.

"Elena, I didn't ask you to lunch to get your permission or approval. I asked you to lunch to tell you how I feel and what I think is the right thing to do and get your _opinion_. But since I'm apparently not good enough for Anastasia, I'll just do what I think is right. One thing I can tell you is that even though no one has ever disrespected me like she has, or swore at me like she has or even slapped me like she has… I still want her. She makes me want to kill her. I swear. I even thought of what suit to wear to her funeral. But at the same time, she makes things unpredictable and… I don't know… fun, exciting, worth it. She makes me feel at peace in the middle of utter chaos. I mean, she insulted me, assaulted me, puked on me and then passed out in my car and I calmly drove her to the hotel and put her in bed after I helped her to clean up. Then I got in bed with her and had the best night's sleep that I've ever had. Not even one nightmare or a moment of interrupted sleep. She held my hand during the night and I didn't pull away because… it was comforting. Don't I deserve someone that comforts me, Elena? I've never felt like I was being comforted. No one has ever held my hand before and it felt great. Granted, no one has ever, in my entire life, made me so unbelievably pissed off before that I could literally kill them. But even with all that, I still want her in my life. I don't want her as a sub, Elena. I don't know what I want her to be but I know that I want her and I'll take her anyway I can get her as long as she wants me too… and I think she does. There's this spark when we touch. There's the look in her eyes and the slight shiver when she knows I'm close. She makes me feel alive. Let me try, Elena." Okay, that was more than what I wanted to tell her, but oh well, it's out now. When I stop pacing, I look at Elena and she looks like she is trying to hide a tear, but I saw it before she could. What the hell is happening to the world around me?

"It sounds like you are falling in love, Christian. You might not quite be there yet, but you will be. You might not want to give that speech when you try to convince Ray Steele that you are good enough for his daughter, but it was good. I've never seen you like this. I would suggest a long session in your playroom with an experienced sub to get rid of all that tension, but I know that won't happen. I already told you that I like her, Christian. All I ask is that you don't break her. I know what it's like to have your heart ripped out of your chest and crushed in so many pieces that it's impossible to ever pick up and I can tell you, it's worse than any physical pain you have ever or will ever experience. That type of pain keeps you awake for a very, very long time. Nothing makes it better. There is no medicine to take it away. And it will break someone for the rest of their lives. So, if you decide to pursue her, make sure you don't fuck it up and if you do, call Flynn and fix it." She gets her things and leave me stunned at the table with a kiss, a real kiss, to my cheek.

Elena Lincoln was in love and someone broke her heart and in the process, he broke her forever. She is in her forties and still not over it. Since I know it was not Linc, it must have happened when she was really young. I never knew. No wonder she preaches that love is for fools. I think whatever happened to Elena was more than just merely a broken heart, but knowing Elena, she won't tell a soul as it will show vulnerability.

I use the rest of the afternoon to think about everything that's happened in a couple of days and how I've never experienced anything so infuriating or exhilarating as Anastasia Steele. She is truly one of a kind and surely if I pursue her, it will end up in heartbreak for her as I'm bound to fuck up at some stage. But then again, if I let her be and she gives her heart to someone else, how do I know he will not be careless and break it anyway.

_Compromise._

I think Flynn is actually on to something. Compromise is about give and take and if we both do it, surely we can make something work out for us?

_Us?_ Damn, I even like the sound of that.

Now I just have to get dressed and pick her up for dinner. Instead of taking her out for dinner, I asked Gail to prepare dinner for us and that we will eat it on the patio that I used all but twice and never for entertainment. Gail was shocked that I asked her to do something on her day off and also that it involved a woman. She assured me that the patio will be beautifully decorated for a dinner for two and that it will be ready by six.

I fully intend to get Anastasia from the ridiculous idea to visit the club tonight. Those clubs are filled with people with no shame or respect for themselves or others and it's not the place for a lady to visit… not even for research for a college paper. I only went there when I was training to be a Dom and a handful of times in the last couple of years when I was between subs and needed an outlet.

**Ana POV:**

"Ana, are you sure you don't want to come with us? We are going dancing… in _Seattle_… it will be so much fun. Please?" Kate whines for about the fifth time today.

"Like the last time we went dancing? Yeah, that ended really well for me." I say with a raised brow and my toothbrush in my hand. A girl has to have clean teeth.

"Ana, the last time _was_ lots of fun. Shame really that you weren't awake to take full advantage of the situation… or the sexy billionaire next to you in bed. I couldn't think of a better way to lose your virginity." Yes, because every girl wants the first time to be out of drunken stupidity that she can't even remember.

"Kate, I'm having dinner tonight. Maybe we don't finish too late and then I'll meet up with you guys." I say to get her off my back.

"With who? You didn't say anything about a dinner date before."

I sigh and since I can't really keep it from her, "With Christian," and then I slammed the bathroom door shut in order to finish getting ready in peace.

When I open the door five minutes later, Kate is still standing where I left her and for her who has a date of her own, it says a lot.

"You have a date with Christian Grey and forgot to tell me, again?"

"No Kate, I was invited to dinner this afternoon and just didn't tell you until now. I can assure you that it's just dinner, nothing more." Definitely no "Yes, Sir" and "Master" crap. And then I get saved by the bell… or the knock on the door.

"That must be Elliot, but I want details tomorrow, Steele… full details." She shouts over her shoulder on the way to the door and I go to get my bag as Christian would also arrive shortly.

Dressed in black pants, a quite revealing black lace top and four inch ankle-high boots, I give myself a look in the mirror. All dressed in black is not normally me, but for tonight it seems appropriate. My hair is in a high ponytail with small pieces left hanging down my face and back to soften the look and it actually looks nice. My make-up looks about the same as on Thursday. Before I leave the room I grab my jacket and handbag and head into the living room expecting Elliot and Kate there.

"Hey, Elliot. How are you?" I say as I walk into the room looking for lip gloss in my bag. I must have put it…

"Hello, Anastasia." I hear from the window and turn to face the man haunting my dreams. Hell, who am I kidding? Dreams as well as every waking moment are more accurate.

"Not, Elliot. Hello, Christian. You look very handsome." And sexy and hot and… just yummy in his black slacks with white button down and well… just fucked hair as Kate would call it.

"That should be Elliot now." I see Kate rushing to the door, but I didn't even hear a knock with Christian slowly walking over to me.

"You look beautiful, Anastasia." He says as he stops before me.

"Please, call me Ana." I say when I could think of anything else.

"Ana," he says as if to test it on his lips while taking his hand to release my lip from my teeth. "Don't bite your lip," he says softly, but with dark eyes.

This moment suddenly seems very tense and all I can see and smell and feel is him.

"Hello, little brother, Ana. Are you guys joining us tonight? I'm sure it will be eventful." Elliot says as he walks up to us and gives me a kiss on the cheek before extending a hand to Christian.

"Unfortunately not. We already have other plans. Maybe some other time," Christian replies sounding a bit harsh. Oh yes, the moods. How could I forget this easily? "We actually need to get going. Ana, are you ready to leave?" he asks as he extends his hand to me. I take it carefully, expecting the electricity this time and when I glance up, Christian simply smiles at me. This man has a smile that would make a woman do whatever he is asking of her.

We walk down and drive in silence until I see a building with the name Escala on it. I don't know Seattle, but this does not look like a restaurant. When Taylor goes into the underground parking, I start to get nervous. Christian must've picked up on it as he place one hand over mine on my lap.

"Relax, Ana. I don't bite." He jokes, but somehow I doubt if that's true and I wouldn't mind a bite if he was the one doing the biting.

When we enter the elevator, Taylor has disappeared and left me alone with Christian. The air around us changes and the pull between us is more intense. I glance at the numbers above the door to avoid looking at Christian, wondering if he feels it too. When we reach the fourth floor, I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I realise very soon that it was a big mistake and my eyes snap open to see Christian staring at me. We've reached the seventh floor and is it just me, or is this elevator extremely slow.

I've barely finished the thought before I feel my back hit the elevator wall and his lips on mine. My hands are pinned above my head with both of his. I feel his tongue licking my lips and open my mouth to give him access. He moves my hands to lock one of his over both my wrists before bringing the other one slowly down to the small of my back. I hesitantly stroke my tongue against his and it feels so good. He seems to like it as he pulls me against him and I can feel his erection press against my front. A soft moan escapes from my mouth and if I died right now, I would die a very happy woman. I feel an unfamiliar sensation and moisture that begins to form between my legs.

"What are you doing to me, Ana?" he asks with his lips barely touching mine and his forehead pressed against mine.

But then the elevator stops and he release me instantly. As if a spell has been broken. I quickly look down to ensure that I still look the same before I walk out in front of him. As I thought, this is definitely not a restaurant. Everything is white with the only colour the row of paintings on the wall and the large vase filled with beautiful flowers.

"Who lives here?" I ask, looking at the paintings and doing my best to avoid eye contact.

"I do. I thought we could have dinner on the patio, but if you would be more comfortable going out…" he says, but he seems distracted and even a bit nervous, so I turn around to look at him with his hand running through his hair.

"No, this is fine."

He takes my hand and leads me through the doors that lead to… more white. As we walk further into the apartment I expected more colour, but no such luck. Everything is white and sterile and big and… white. It looks more like a museum than a home, but I guess this is what he likes and it is his… apartment. I would not really call it a home. Home implies comfort, relaxation and personal. This is anything but.

"It's big," I finally find my voice. "And beautiful," I add quickly as big is not a compliment.

"I suppose it is. Would you like a glass of wine?" He asks holding his hand out to invite me through the glass doors leading to the patio. Why this powerful man would be nervous around me is beyond me, but he does look very nervous tonight.

"Yes, please. White if you have." When he smiles, I want to hit myself on the forehead. Of course he would have white wine. He probably has a wine cellar in this massive apartment. He goes to the kitchen to fetch the wine and I take to opportunity to appreciate the view.

When I go through the glass doors, I had to look behind me to ensure that I came out to the right patio as there is surprisingly nothing white. The table is beautifully decorated with a black table cloth and a black and white polka dot table runner. In the centre of the table are two small cubes with a mirror finish filled with yellow roses. At each place setting is a yellow napkin with silver napkin holder. On the other side of the patio are two outdoor couches, one against the railing and one against the window. There is a square table in front of them with a large vase filled with yellow roses as well. Somehow I doubt that Christian has chosen this décor looking at the rest of what I've seen thus far.

"Do you like it?" I hear his voice and when he notice my confused look, he point to the horizon with the wine glass in his hand. "The view." Oh yes, I came to check out the view. He hands me my glass of wine and I turn around to look at the view behind me. It's not quite dark yet and naturally a billionaire would have an awesome view.

"It's magnificent."

"It's one of the reasons why I bought this place," he says as he comes to stand beside me.

"What's the other reasons?" I ask, curious as to why one man would need so much space. I mean, it's the entire floor of the building.

"The main reasons were security and privacy. No one can easily get in here without approval and Taylor monitors the access," he answers and I get the feeling that it must sometimes get very lonely up here all by himself.

But then again, I'm sure he is hardly ever alone up here. Before the thought can sadden me more, I push it out of my mind and just try and enjoy the moment.

"I would have dinner out here every night when it's nice weather. There is just something in looking at the sun set that calms me." I say and shiver when he puts his hand on my back.

"Dinner is ready. Are you cold? Would you like me to get your jacket?" Why would he…?

"Uhm, yes please." Putting on a jacket is better than trying to explain that I'm not cold but shivering.

Dinner is pleasant and he tells me more about what he does for a living. Mergers and acquisitions sound boring to me, but then again, I was never a big fan of numbers. I like working with people even though I'm a bit shy. I feel good when I can see that I helped someone. When he asks me if I like to travel, I quickly say yes even though I've never left the USA. It sounds like he has been just about everywhere. When he asks me what places I would like to visit, the answer comes quickly.

"Africa. I would like to someday be in a position to help provide some relief for the people there. People here don't realize how fortunate they are and… I just like to help people." Obviously, that was not the answer he was expecting. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No, I just expected you to say Paris, Rome or some holiday destination. That's not a frequent answer to that question."

"Have you ever been to Africa?" I ask even though it doesn't seem like the sort of place someone like him would visit. He looks more like the Aspen type.

"I actually go twice a year for a week at a time. My company has an outreach program in Darfur that provides food and medical supplies to the people there. I go there to ensure that the funds are used for what it was intended and that food is distributed fairly to feed as many people as possible. I don't like the idea of anyone going hungry. I know what it's like to be hungry and I would not want that for anyone." He says sadly but then looks like he immediately looks like he regrets his words, so I'm surprised when he continues, "Before I was adopted at the age of four I remember being hungry." And with a slight shake of his head and a quick hand through his hair, his mood swifts and he's back in control again.

Somehow I feel compelled to finish the food on my plate and smile when it seems to please him. It wasn't really very hard to finish. The food was restaurant quality and I should not have expected anything less. The salmon and salad starter was awesome, complete with pomegranate pips. For the main course we had lamb chops with roasted veggies and spicy rice. He gets up and leads me to the couches with a new glass of wine. I think it is about the third and I should stop drinking soon. When he starts talking, I take it that the light conversation of earlier is finished for the night.

"Anastasia," okay, we're back to Anastasia now, "where do you see this," he points between us, "going?"

"Excuse me?" I ask, clearly confused as last time I checked, he was into beating woman and that shit won't fly with me. I wouldn't mind a kiss like earlier though.

"Do you see… us… becoming something…" he seems at a loss for words, so I finish for him.

"More?" Also not sure it's the right word, even though it seems like it.

"Yes… more?"

"Christian, we want different things. I have never been in love before and never had a boyfriend before, but I want hearts and flowers. I want someone to cook for and cuddle with at night. I want someone to have intimate moments with where we can just relax and be together. I want someone who would do small things for me simply because he knows it will make me smile." He seems a bit taken back, but I take a deep breath and continue, "You want something totally different. You prefer whips and chains and woman to call you 'Sir'. You want some to tie to a bed and beat with a cane or something. I'm not that girl, Christian. I will _never _be that girl. Hitting is… what did Elena call it? A hard limit. I won't be okay with that. I'm sorry, but it's just not for me." I finish and look into his eyes, but his look is surprising calm taking into account what I just said to him.

"Ana, no one has ever spoken to me like you do. For the last couple of days my life was not filled with the same routine and the control I'm used to, but it's been exciting. You made me angrier that I've ever been before, to the point where I thought I would resort to physical violence, but… you make me feel at peace and I don't remember ever feeling at peace before. When you held my hand while we slept on Friday morning, I felt comforted, also not something I've ever felt before. I don't know why exactly, but I like it when I'm around you. You make me feel alive. I like your smart mouth and your honesty. I think mostly, I like the way you see me… as me. Not someone who can do something for you or someone you can get something from, but me." I'm not sure he is aware of the fact that his pacing in front of me until he stops to bend down in front of me, taking both hands in his, sending that spark through my body and I gasp. "You feel that, don't you? I've never felt that before. We will be so good together, Ana. I'm sure we could work out the rest, but I want you… more than I've ever wanted anything before. If I never get to go into my playroom again, that would be fine as long as I have you close to me." Playroom? He has a private playroom? At his house? Obviously seeing the surprise on my face, he takes my hand in his and pulls me to follow him. "Might as well go all in and get it over with." I hear him say to himself.

We walk to the doors through which we came in and for a second I'm relieved. Perhaps his playroom is not in his apartment. My relief is short lived when we stop at the door at the right of the double doors.

"Anastasia, you can leave at any time. If you feel uncomfortable, we leave." He says, clearly unsure of what I will decide.

"Show me," I say and put my hand back in his.

We walk up the stairs and turn right to stop in front of another closed door. Does this man keep everything closed? He takes a key from his pocket and unlocks the door. When he opens it, he stands back and I walk in first.

Holy shit!

_It's not white._

Should I be worried that I'm looking at, what could be called a torture chamber, and my first thought is about the colour scheme? Taking a closer look around the room, it's hard to focus on anything apart from the massive bed in the centre of the room. Why would he need this massive bed? I mean, it's a four poster bed that dominates the room. It's even bigger than a king size bed. I thought king size was the biggest bed available, but it seems I was wrong.

I walk further into the room and notice the smell; it smells like leather, wood and polish with a faint citrus scent. The lighting is soft and subtle in the cornice of the room, emitting an ambient glow. The walls and ceiling are a deep red. There is a large wooden cross fastened to the wall facing the door which is made out of high-polished mahogany with restraining cuffs in each corner. By the door are two poles, curtain like. From them swings a startling assortment of paddles, whips, riding crops and floggers. They might be part of foreplay for him, but none of these will ever come into contact with my skin.

On the other side is a huge mahogany chest of drawers that looks custom designed to fit whatever torture tools it has to contain. When I let my fingers run along the polished surface, he walks over to stand beside me. Even with the strong scent already filling the room, I can smell his scent as if it is the only scent in the room. His close proximity also makes me feel safe and like I belong. That has been a problem for me ever since I could remember… feeling like I belong, like I'm wanted. I know it's irrational since I have Ray, my mom and a close group of friends, but standing next to Christian just feels right.

"Open it," he says, pulling the first drawer open himself.

It contains a vast selection of vibrators and clamps. I'm suddenly glad for my little research on Wikipedia leading me to the page containing the implements and toys used in his lifestyle. I put my hand softly on his, briefly enjoying the contact, and close the drawer. I open the second drawer to find it filled with cuffs, blindfolds and other forms of items used for restraining the submissives. I wonder how _Sir _would like to be restrained by this. When I smile, he frowns. When I look at his hands, my imagination runs wild and I can see myself bound to the massive bed with those hands roaming all over my body. He lifts his hand to gently tug on my bottom lip until I release it.

"Don't do that, please," he says and it's my turn to frown. I close the drawer and turn to face him with my back against the drawers and my hands on either side of me, gripping on the top.

"Why do you keep saying that?" I ask and when he bends his head to come closer, I close my eyes, thinking he is going to kiss me. Even his torture chamber won't make me afraid to let him kiss me. What normal woman would not want to be kissed by him like earlier?

"Because I want to bite that lip too," he whispers into my ear and then pulls away quickly. Luckily I'm already gripping to the top of the chest as I would be on the ground now if I wasn't. _Oh, he's good._ He grabs my hand and leads me quickly out of the room, "I can't think with you in there. Let's talk down stairs."

It seems apartments like this come complete with miracle workers. In the fireplace a fire is burning and the doors leading to the patio has been closed. I bet the patio is once again spotless, like the rest of the place. On the table is a bottle of white wine and two glasses, in front of an oversized white couch. Not even a scatter cushion to add a bit of colour. We sit down and Christian pours each of us a glass of wine. After handing my glass to me, he takes his and gulps down half of the wine.

"What do you think of the playroom?" he asks, looking with that emotionless expression into my eyes.

"It's not white," I say the first thought I had, but immediately regret it when he glances around the room and smile shyly at me.

"Yes, it's not white,"

"Christian, that's just not me. The non-punishing things seems like it could be… I don't know… enjoyable. The bed is amazing, although leather is not really my thing. It makes me feel icky and sticky and sweaty. The cross is beautiful and the chest of drawers is interesting. The implements next to the door freak me out and make me scared. I'm not sure what exactly you want me to say," I tell him honestly. "Maybe you should just tell me, in no uncertain terms, what it is you want from me." I put the ball in his court.

"Whatever you are willing to give me, Ana." Comes his quick reply and I move in order to put a hand on his face. Initially he looks like he might push me away. That quickly makes way for fear before he relax when he sees where my hand is going.

"What if I ask you for hearts and flowers? What if I want you to hold me instead of beating me?" I look into his eyes, knowing full well that his next response may be the reason why I never get to touch him again.

"I would try and give it to you. I've never done hearts and flowers and I will fuck it up several times, but I will try." He answers honestly before getting that nervous look again, "Would you try?" he asks and I frown, "To give me what I want, apart from you? No punishments… just pleasure."

"I'm not sure what you mean?" Oh hell, please don't say you want me to stand still and take a beating.

"Let's start at the beginning. When you've had sex before, what did you like about it?" Fuck! This is worse. What do I tell him? Nothing, because that's the truth. But since he is being so open and honest, I decide to go all in too and she what happens.

"I've… never… had sex before," I quickly say the last part before I lose my nerve. His face pales before he slowly pulls his hand from mine to stand up. The shock is immediately replaced with anger when our eyes lock.

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**A/N: Please, please review.**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Thank you for the readers following my story and also for the reviews.**

**There are no words to tell you guys how terribly sorry I am for the lack of updates. I decided to transfer back to Gauteng and it is 450km from where I live now. Finishing off my current job, finding a house, arranging the furniture to be moved, new schools, insurance and I'm certain a few more things that I will probably remember when it's too late, is taking up a lot of my time. I have another 4-5 weeks before I have to be in Gauteng, so I will try and update as much as possible on all three stories.**

**Your patience for a couple of weeks will be greatly appreciated.**

**Also, I'm trying to figure out how to tell Ana what Elena did to Christian at 15 without her going all Ana on her. In order for Ana to help her deal with her issues, they need to at least be on speaking terms. Any ideas welcome.**

_**Important: I do not own the Fifty Shades Trilogy or the characters. They belong to the very talented E.L. James.**_

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**Ana POV:**

"Say that again?" he asks as if he heard wrong. I don't get his reaction at all.

"I've never had sex before," I say again and I can feel his anger now. This is so not how I imagined this night ending at all.

"You're a virgin?" Oh for fuck sakes.

"Yes, Christian. I've never had sex before is the definition for virgin. Why are you angry?" Shocked, yes, that I could understand. But angry?

"I'm not angry, but I'm not the kind of man you want to give your virginity to, Anastasia. I can't…it's not right… I'm sorry… I think it will be best if you rather go." He already has his phone in his hand and types something at record speed. When he looks up, I know there is no point discussing it with him. My virginity is a deal breaker for him and I can feel my eyes burn with tears that I refuse to let fall. I was prepared to accept him as he is. Even with all the shit that comes with him. But he is not prepared to look beyond me being a virgin. Well fuck him. He can continue to have his fucking subs and contracts and shit. I was so not prepared for that response. "Anastasia, it's not…" Really, he is going to start with the same bullshit line used in movies and by every living male looking of an easy out.

"Let me guess, Christian. It's not me, it's you. _How comforting_. Thank you for clearing that up for me. Let me clear something up for you, _Sir._" I say as I stand up. "Just because I have not slept with half of Seattle and making it seem acceptable because of a signed contract, _I'm_ not good enough? Well, you can go to hell! I will not stand here and listen to bullshit clichés because you are not man enough to just admit what the fuck your real problem is. Have a good life and please stay the fuck out of mine. I will decline Elliot's invitation for dinner tomorrow myself, no need to worry about seeing me tomorrow or any time in the near future." When I walk away, he says nothing and does not even try to stop me and it really hurts. Taylor is standing in front of the doors with my handbag in his hand and a sad expression on his usual impassive face. He doesn't even have the manners to walk me out himself.

The ride down to the parking area is uncomfortable for both of us. The first couple of floors where fine, but when we get to the seventh floor, I remember the kiss and the tears start to fall. Taylor hands me a handkerchief without even looking my way, for which I'm grateful. Halfway to my apartment, I decide that a change of plans is in order. I could also do with another drink, not that I'm sure I should.

"Taylor, please take me to Trinity. Do you know where it is?" I ask before I lose my nerve.

"Yes, Ms. Steele."

"One more thing, please can you do me a huge favour? Give this to Christian and tell him to listen to number fifteen. When he's done, please can you give it to Elliot tomorrow evening? I will get it from him." I'm still crying, but what the hell. I was just told that I wasn't good enough by Christian while the entire evening was going so well.

At the club I get out quickly before Taylor get to my door and look at him. What this man must have seen while working for Christian was probably ten times worse than whatever he witnessed tonight.

"Tell him to go fuck himself. Thank you for bringing me here. I will catch a ride home with Elliot. Take care, Taylor." I say and head into the club.

**Christian POV:**

Well, as expected, I fucked it up. I did not however expect it to be on the first day, but I have always been an over achiever. I knew I couldn't do hearts and flowers, but for her I really would have tried. I simply can't take her virginity knowing that I will most likely break her heart eventually. For a woman, her virginity is sacred and is given to someone special. I'm definitely no one special and I also don't see myself having a relationship with no sex, especially with Anastasia. Most of my thoughts are of how it will be to be inside her, to feel her naked skin against mine.

Fuck! _A virgin._ I did not see that coming. That woman screams sex in everything she does. The way she plays with her hair, the way she bites her lip and even the way she dances.

But I let her leave. No, I pissed her off and basically told her to get the fuck out of my apartment by summonsing Taylor. What the hell must she be thinking right now? I know that I will never get her out of my head and now I chased her out of my home. I chased her out and possibly right into the arms of that special someone who will get her precious gift.

I couldn't even watch her leave. I continued to stare at the Seatle skyline and closed my eyes to keep myself from calling her back. Letting her leave was… hard. When the elevator doors finally closed after what felt like hours, I fell onto the couch and here I sit… alone. I could be sitting here with Ana.

_What the fuck was I thinking? _

I crab my phone just as Taylor walks back into the apartment.

"Is she okay?" Of course she's not, but I didn't want to start with demanding her whereabouts.

"She's upset, Sir. She was crying until just before we reached the club." He answers, but all I'm seeing is an upset Ana in a fucking BDSM club.

"Which club?" I spit out.

"Trinity, Sir. She is meeting up with your brother and some friends." Oh, well, that's not too bad. But she is still upset and might get drunk and…

"Did she say anything?" I ask and he hands me an iPod.

"She said to listen to number fifteen." Okay.

"Was that all? I don't like playing twenty questions, Taylor." Why does he keep on waiting for me to ask him everything? Can't he just give me a rundown like he normally does?

"No, Sir. She also… well… she said to tell you…to…" I hold up my hand. I don't need him to tell me what she said. By the way he can't repeat it, I know what she said.

"To go fuck myself." He lifts a brow in confusion, "It's not the first time, but it will probably be the last." And the thought saddens me. Fuck I'm pathetic. Even the thought that she won't insult me again makes me sad.

I dismiss Taylor and immediately place Ana's iPod in the docking station while turning the volume much higher to what I normally play music. The song starts and I sit down on the couch and close my eyes.

_I wanna smash your fears_

_And get drunken of your tears,_

_Don't you share your smile _

_With anyone else but me._

Okay, that does not sound too bad. If it wasn't for this one big thing, I would not share my smile with anyone accept her… ever.

_I wanna touch your heart_

_I wanna crush it in my hands_

_Make you plead and cry _

_As you give up all the lies_

My eyes snap open and I somehow know that I won't like where this song is going.

_We're not lovers, but more than friends_

_Put a flame to every single word you ever said_

_No more crying to get me through_

_I'll keep dancing 'till the morning with somebody new._

Ohhhhh, fuck. Is that why she went to the club? To _'get over me'_ and move on? My thoughts are confirmed by the next words of the song that's starting to severely piss me off.

_Tonight I'm getting over you_

_Tonight I'm getting over you_

_Tonight I'm getting over you_

_Tonight I'm getting over you_

_Over you, over you, over _

Before the girl can finish another 'over you' I've reached the docking station and Ana's iPod goes flying through the air, docking station and all. Not even looking to see where it lands, I crab my keys and wallet from the counter and storm out. There is no way in hell I will let you get over me with someone else. If she really wants me, she can have me… all fucked up inch of me. Even if I pushed her away, I don't want her to get over me. I want her to think of me. I want her to dream of me. I want her to want me. I want her. It's as simple as that. I want Anastasia Steele… no matter what. What seemed like a big thing for me earlier, don't seems so big to me right now. Taking my past into consideration, I should thank my lucky stars that she even gives me her time. And miraculously, she wants me. At the end of the day, isn't that all that matters?

"What the fuck did you do?" I hear Elliot almost scream in my ear when I phone him to confirm that Ana is still there. "Any chances of me being with Kate tonight got ruined because I'm standing here defending you and I don't even know what the fuck you did."

"I was an idiot. Is she still there?"

"Yes, but she does _not _want to see you in the near or distant future. She's angry, Christian. I don't mean angry-angry, but hurt-angry and that is ten times worse for a woman. I've seen a lot of woman hurt before, and I'm telling you, Ana has been badly hurt by whatever dumb thing you did or said." I do not need him to tell me this.

"Elliot, I know I was an idiot, I don't need you to make it worse. I do need you to keep Ana at the club until I get there."

"You're coming here? I'm not sure that's a good idea, Bro."

"For fuck sakes, just keep her there, Elliot." I disconnect and speed up to get to the club as soon as possible.

When I get into the club and start searching for Elliot, I find Ana first. She is dancing with Maya, Kate, Elliot and Jose. Jackson must still be in Portland. As I approach them, I see Jose leaning over to say something to Ana and she laughs with her hand on his back. I don't know if she is doing it for support or out of affection, but I don't give a fuck, I don't like it. I walk up to them and go to stand behind Ana, careful not to touch her until we have spoken. When she immediately stops dancing, I know she can feel my presence. It's amazing that we are so aware of each other. Kate is shooting daggers at me so I guess Ana told her what happened between us. Since the idea of an NDA has never crossed my mind, I can't really be upset about that. Elliot does not look to happy with my presence either, but I'm not here for them, I'm here to get Ana.

She turns slowly and then walks right past me to a table close to the dance floor. I follow her and sit down while she continues to ignore me. She has not even glanced in my direction yet. Even in the bad light I can see that she has cried and I feel a pain in my chest at the thought that I'm responsible for those tears.

"Anastasia, please can we talk in private?" I ask as I reach for her hand on the table. She quickly pulls her hand away and looks around us.

"We are in private. What do you want, Christian?" She spits out and I forgot how hot pissed Ana is.

"I just want to talk to you, but not in here." I sound pathetic.

"I don't want to talk to you and I don't want to listen to anything you have to say. I'm sorry I don't live up to the high standards, or rather low morals, of Christian Grey, but I will not feel bad about it for one second longer. You actually have some cheek you know? You made me feel like I'm not good enough just because you fucked countless women who have been fucked by several other men." I never thought about it like that. But it's not her words that get to me the most, it's her tone. There is no emotion in her voice.

"Ana, please. I know I fucked up. We could go back to Escala or to your place. Please, just hear me out. Just let me apologize and I will never bother you again." She looks at the dance floor before getting up and I'm trying to figure out if I will have to leave Seattle or the country in order to ensure that I keep my promise of never bothering her again.

"Let me just tell Kate."

When we are in the R8, I look at her with my hands on the steering wheel.

"Where would you like to go?" I don't care either way. I'm just glad she is letting me talk to her.

"To Escala. At least there I can leave when I've heard enough." She says, staring out the window.

We drive in silence. She refuses to look at me and I keep my eyes on the road. I don't know how to make this right, but I have to. I have to find the words to fix this by myself as there is no time to phone John. When we arrive at Escala, she stares at the elevator as if she is afraid to get in. No doubt thinking about the last time we were in here together.

"I won't touch you, Ana." I hold the door open for her and she gets in just to stand as far away from me as possible in this small space. How much things have changed in less than a handful of hours. I already felt like shit and this is not helping. My chest feels as if someone is standing on top of it. I would really like to just touch her or at least hold her hand, but I told her that I wouldn't, so instead I put both hands in my pants pockets and let my head fall back with my eyes closed. Divine intervention… that's what I should be praying for. I don't know what the right words are that I should say to her. Standing like this does not help with the pull between us, but it stops me from going to her. The pull seems to be even more intense in the small space of the elevator and I relish in the feeling, not knowing if I will ever experience it again.

When we reach the penthouse, Ana all but sprints out of the elevator with a loud sigh and we are greeted by Taylor who does not look surprised to see Ana storming out in front of me. I shouldn't be, but I'm glad that I seem to affect her just like she does me. When we walk into the great room, the docking station is nowhere to be found and Ana's iPod, that seems to have survived the crash, is on the table where the docking station was. There is now a vase with yellow roses next to the iPod.

She points to the iPod while looking at me, "I take it you listened to the song?"

"Some of it. At first, I thought it might be a nice song… turns out that I hate it," I say as I walk to the kitchen to get something to drink. When I turn, she is sitting at the breakfast bar. I frown but sit down next to her.

"It's closer to the door," she says as I hand her a glass of wine and it actually hurts me to think that she doesn't want to be here with me right now. I don't like this feeling at all. All these new emotions and shit is confusing and overwhelming and I can see my monthly bill from John increase dramatically.

"Ana, I'm so sorry for my behaviour earlier. There is no excuse for treating you like I did. Please will you find it in your heart to forgive me? I want you in my life Ana, even if it is just as… a friend," I say and I'm sure even my eyes are pleading with her.

"I don't understand why you were angry with me about the fact that I'm a virgin. I know that you are used to more… experienced woman, but I'm not ashamed of it. I just didn't feel enough for a man before to give it to him and then you… I thought… I," She stops, but I have to know what is going through her head. Maybe if I'm lucky, I have a shot at fixing whatever I broke.

"You thought what, Ana?" I ask and she looks down at the glass in her hand, twirling the stem with her fingers.

"I actually thought that… well, that I… that you might be happy. Not happy happy, but… at least pleased. I didn't think you would react the way you did. It took me by surprise and it hurt me. No man has ever been able to make me feel so… hurt and rejected." She says and I think about it that way for the first time. She has never been with a man. No one has ever seen her like that. If we do this, I'll be her first. I will always be her first. That actually makes me smile. No matter what happens, I will always have a place in her heart.

"I am happy about that, Ana. I was an idiot earlier. I'm sorry about hurting you and making you feel rejected." She relaxes for the first time and look up into my eyes. "It came as a shock, that's all."

"What do you want from me, Christian?" she asks sounding exhausted and dejected. "I don't want to play games and I don't want to sit here any longer trying to work out what you are thinking. I'm tired and emotional and just want to go to bed. So, do us both a favour and just tell me what you want from me." It's the same question that started the shit earlier and I take a few seconds to work out how to put into words what I want. When I couldn't think of the right words, in my opinion, I open my mouth and simply let the words come out.

"I want you, even though I don't deserve you. I want you, but I don't even know how to be with you. I want to try and give you hearts and flowers, but I'm not sure how to do that. Going to bed with you was pleasant the other evening, considering the circumstances. I don't know what your cooking is like, but I will eat whatever you make. I've never cuddled, but if it means I get to hold you, I'm all for that too. I just want you in my life and the thought of anyone else having you, is just too much for me. I want to smile just for you, because without you I won't have a reason to smile. I don't think I have a heart, but if I do, I wouldn't want you to crush it. I…" I wanted to say something else, but when her lips touches mine and her arms go around my neck, I forget what that even was. I open my legs and pull her even closer to me.

My hands are on the small of her back and I let one go down to cup her ass. With the soft moan slipping from her throat, I take it she doesn't mind. When I think she needs to get some air, I trail kissing along her jaw and to her neck. I lick all the way up to below her ear and she lets her head drop to the side to give me better access. When I get to her ear, I kiss her softly behind it and feel a shiver run through her. Her one hand slipped into my hair and is pulling it so gently that I just barely feel the pain. I wish she would pull harder, but I'm sure she won't. I kiss her once more behind the ear and then take her earlobe between my teeth. When I bite down on it, I feel her pull my hair harder and press her body against mine. She liked that little bit of pain… interesting.

I pull her closer and push my throbbing erection into her for some relieve before I can stop myself. She moans into my mouth, but I let go of her instantly hoping that I didn't fuck up again. When she looks at me, her eyes are filled with desire.

"I'm sorry, Ana. I didn't mean to do that." I pant, putting my hands on my thighs and wait for her reaction.

"Don't be. I liked it. Why did you stop?" Because I'm trying to be a better man.

"Because if I didn't, you would be losing your virginity on my breakfast bar and for some reason I didn't think you would like that." I put my hands on her waist and pull her a bit closer again, "But if I'm honest, I want you, Ana. I want to take you to my bed and make love to you. I've imagined it so many times already, but I want to touch your body and I want to feel your skin under my finger tips." I tell her truthfully.

"Then why don't you?" She says softly and looks up at me with a shy smile. I blink and then blink again and nope… not a dream.

"Do you want me to? Do you want me to make love to you?" I ask to make sure. Problem is… I've never had vanilla sex before, not to mention made love to anyone. But somehow, I know that when I have her beneath me, I will know exactly how to make love to her.

"Yes," she breathes. I've died and gone to heaven.

Before she can change her mind and run out the door, I pick her up and carry her to my bed. I place her gently on the edge of the bed before I start to undress her in silence. I take off her jacket first, keeping my eyes locked on hers. Then I take the hem of her shirt and she nods in approval while lifting her arms. It feels like I'm unwrapping a gift. When I discard the shirt, I look back to Ana sitting in a dark blue lace bra and she is just perfect. I let my hand trail up her arms and back down over the front of her body until I get to her pants. The shiver I feel running through her, runs straight to my dick.

When I kneel between her legs, I'm fully aware of the irony. I unbutton her pants and remove her shoes and socks before taking her hand and pulling her to stand in front of me. I let the pants fall to the floor and she steps out of it. And there she stands, with only a blue lace bra and matching panties. I put my hands on her ankles and let them slide up her soft legs as I get up to face her. Her skin feels even better than I imagined under my hands.

"You are breathtakingly beautiful, Ana. Are you sure you want to do this?" Last chance to change your mind, Anastasia. Once I've had you, there will be no going back. You will be mine.

"I'm sure." She whispers very anxiously, but that's good enough for me. It's to be expected that she is anxious.

I push her back until she sits back onto the bed. She wants to move up, but I kneel before her and grab the inside of her knees to keep her in place.

"Not yet, Ana," she smiles and moves back to sit on the edge of the bed. I take the panties between my hands and kiss her. I need to get inside her… and soon. "I will buy you new ones, baby." I say with my lips touching hers as I rip her panties off. She moans again and lifts herself for me to pull it from her. To keep her distracted, I keep kissing her while moving her legs slowly apart.

"Put your hands on the bed behind you and lean back, baby." I say as I pull away. I almost come in my pants when I got a full view of the woman in front of me. Naked, except for the bra, legs spread and wet… waiting for me to feast on. "Don't move your hands, baby." I say and bend to get a taste of the promised land.

"Have you ever made yourself come, Ana?" I ask and feel even more thrilled when she shakes her head with red cheeks. I even get to own her very first orgasm. I don't waste any time and run my tongue over the length of her wet folds. She moans loudly and grabs hold of the duvet with both hands. I push her down a bit more and circle her clit before sucking on it.

"Oh fuck," she screams and I smile. She is so responsive and knowing I'm the first one to taste her is enough to put me on a high.

Lick, circle, suck… lick, circle, suck, I continue with the sequence until I feel that she is close. I gently slip one finger through her folds into her sex and move in and out slowly… careful not to go too deep. I have no idea how deep the hymen is supposed to be.

"Don't stop… please don't stop… aah… this feels so good." She says as her back hits the bed with her hands still holding onto the duvet. I wouldn't be able to stop now even if my life depended on it.

I continue to fuck her with one finger slowly and when I suck on her clit again, I feel her muscles contract. Her back arches from the bed and her head is thrown back.

"That's it, baby. Come for me." I say and she pushes her sex into my hand, but we can't have that yet. As much as I would like to see her fuck my hand, I can't risk it right now. Seconds later I watch her climax. Her first orgasm and I'm the one that got to give it to her. There is no way that she could ever look sexier than she does right now.

I let go of her and get undressed as fast as possible. I walk over to the dresser and take a condom from the top drawer and when I turn around to walk back to her, I see her eyes grow wide. I look down and yes, my erection is close to painful and as big as it's ever been. I wonder if she has even seen a naked man before, but dismiss the thought quickly in order to not upset myself. I get on my knees between her legs and smile at her.

"He will fit, baby. We will be a perfect fit." I say as I push her further onto the bed, throwing pillows off the bed as quick as I can. I take her hands in mine and pin them above her head. With a quick kiss to the forehead, I tell her to not move them. I lift her back slightly and remove her bra only to reveal the perfect breasts. I suck one nipple into my mouth and bite gently on it. It doesn't take long for it to respond and I move to the other one. She is squirming and I can see that it's hard for her not to move her hands. I could have tied her up, but I don't want her first time to be bound to a bed.

I lift off her and position my dick at her entrance, "Are you sure, Ana?" I check again and she just nods with her eyes closed. I know this will be painful for her, so I go in as slow as possible, but then think better of it and slam into her. Ripping of a band aid is always more painful when you go slowly instead of just ripping it off. I could feel the proof of her virtue as I pushed through it and I had to stop myself from smiling in victory. I stop when I'm buried deep inside her and bend down to kiss the tears away that escaped from her closed eyes.

"Are you okay, baby? I ask, still not moving.

"Yes… I'm fine." She says, gripping onto the duvet and I start to move slowly. I can tell the moment the pain goes away as her eyes open again. I lift myself onto my hands to look at her. I can't find any sign of pain in those big, blue eyes.

"You are so tight… it feels amazing… to be inside you," I tell her between each thrust. And it does. The only thing that will make this any better is if I could feel her soft, warm skin brush against my dick as I penetrate her. The subject of contraception is one that I will have to broach really quickly.

When she starts to move her hips at the same tempo, I resist the urge to push her down and fuck her hard. Instead I bend down again and kiss her passionately. I've never kissed during a scene before, but Ana is not a sub and this is definitely not a scene. I move down to her neck and to her breasts, leaving a trail of kisses in my path.

"You are beautiful, baby. Your skin is so soft and flawless." I manage to say, not knowing how I'm even able to speak right now. "I knew we would be amazing together, Ana."

I take one nipple into my mouth and suck on it before I lick over it. When I hear her soft moan, I take the nipple between my teeth and bite down again. A loud moan is my reward that confirms my suspicion that she does like a bit of pain.

"Can you feel how good we are together? How good I make you feel?" I ask and she only nods.

I feel her vaginal walls contract and know that she is close. If I wasn't close to climaxing before, I certainly am now. She is already tight and now… now it's… mind blowing.

"Give it to me, Ana." I tell her and she closes her eyes. "Open your eyes, Ana. I want to see you come." She opens her eyes and it is glazed with lust and desire. "Come for me, Ana." I say and she comes while screaming my name, gripping onto the sheets so hard that her knuckles are turning white.

"Fuck… Ana… that's right baby, feel it… this feels so good… so damn good," and it does, better than anything before. I collapse on top of her, taking some of my weight on my hands, and wait a while for our breathing to return to normal. Another thing I've never done before, but it feels nice to have her under me. I would normally come and then immediately start to untie the sub. Ana's hands aren't even tied and I couldn't care less.

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**A/N: Please leave a review if you have the time.**

_**Song: "Tonight I'm getting over you." by Carly Rae Jepsen. It was not out yet in May 2012, but what the hell, this is fanfiction... where everything is possible. **_


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews and PM's. They've been very helpful and every review is read and appreciated.**

**I'm busy packing but thought I would post an update quickly. I tried to correct errors, but if some was missed, please read over it.**

_**Important: I do not own the Fifty Shades Trilogy or the characters. They belong to the very talented E.L. James.**_

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**Ana POV:**

_Holy cow_. Okay then… I can see what the big fuss is about. That was… just WOW.

I should probably try to get up as I feel all sweaty and stuff, not even to think about what is going on… down there, but all I can think about is doing that again. It felt… and then… oh hell, I can't even think straight. I giggle at myself as I'm never at a loss for words. Christian gets onto his hands and is looking down at me with a raised eyebrow and I try to fight the urge to cover my face.

"Not quite the response I was expecting," he says acting hurt and I bite my lip not to laugh again. When I see his gaze going to my lips, I release my lip.

"It not that… really. _That _was amazing. I was just thinking that I should probably go and get cleaned up and…" I stop as he is already on his way to the bathroom. He returns with a warm bath cloth and gently runs is up one thigh, then the other before cleaning… there. Could this get any more embarrassing? I hide my eyes behind my arm until I feel the bed next to me dip and then he lifts my arm away from my eyes, so I close them.

"Hey, don't hide from me. You have nothing to be embarrassed about." I open my eyes and turn onto my side to face him. "Now, that's better. So… you were thinking that you should get cleaned up and…?" he looks at me expectantly and I can feel the blush on my cheeks.

"Maybe we could do that again?" I say, but it sounds more like a question than an answer. Why does he make me so nervous?

"You're a demanding little thing, aren't you?" he says while starting to get up. He holds his hand out to me and I reluctantly take it while clutching the sheet to my chest. _Please don't take me to the playroom. Please don't take me to the playroom_.

"Where are we going?" I ask anxiously and he smiles, obviously knowing what I was thinking.

"Shower," he says and tugs on the sheet to let it drop to the floor, "But we won't need this." As we walk I let me eyes run over his naked body. He is just perfect. It is obvious that he works out a lot. Not sure where a CEO billionaire find the time to do that as well.

He closes the bathroom door behind us and in a blink of an eye, my back is pressed against it and my hands pinned above my head, just like in the elevator earlier… except that we are naked this time. His well toned, hard body is pressing into mine.

"Like what you see, Ana?" he asks close to my ear and a shiver runs down my spine. "I definitely like what I see."

He takes one leg and lifts it for me to wrap it around him, exposing me more than what I should be comfortable with. He bends slight and starts to grind his fast growing erection into me. Crap… this is just soooo good. How the hell are we ever going to stop?

"Do you feel that, Anastasia? Do you see what you do to me?" he says as he grinds harder and faster. "I knew we would be great together." But I'm on the verge of being unable to listen.

"It's… oh god… this is… ahh… don't stop… so good," I whimper between pants. I think at this stage I would honestly do anything if he promises not to stop.

"Anastasia, I don't plan on stopping any time soon." He continues the grinding and just when I feel like I'm beginning that delicious climb to the top, he stops. "Fuck! I forgot to grab a condom. As much as I would absolutely love to feel your soft skin on my dick, I'm not dad material." He says breathlessly next to my ear and pulls away after a loud sigh. "Let's shower and take this to bed."

I blink twice to get out of the lust filled haze I was trapped in. I will have to be very careful around this man. For the first time in my life I start to fall for a man and it had to be one of the most complicated, fascinating and all-consuming men to ever walk the earth. I reluctantly put my foot back on the ground and take his hand to follow him into the shower. With the press of a button on a keypad, there is a quick squirt of cold water before hot water pours down on us.

I look down at his very impressive erection between us and mindlessly lick my lips. His eyes move from my eyes to my lips and I get an idea, not that I know what I'm doing, but Kate said it's like sucking and licking on your favourite lollipop. How hard can it be?

Keeping my eyes locked on his, I go down onto my knees, careful not to touch his upper body. I got the feeling that he has a fear of being touched, but seemed to be fine with his neck and hair. Kneeling in front of him and looking up, I can see his eyes grow darker… he likes this. He might say he doesn't need that life and that he wants me… but he likes this. If he can try for me, I will try for him… within limits of course.

I touch his feet gently before running my hands up his legs. His thighs are hard and well defined so I take my time to go up. When I finally reach my destination, he takes a deep breath as I take his erection into my right hand with the left going around to touches that perfect ass he flaunted earlier. I squeeze his butt and he moans and falls forward to put both hands on the wall behind me.

Not taking my eyes away from his, I move forward and take him into my mouth. He is hard as rock and smooth as silk… what a strange combination. I keep my one hand on the base and trace around the head with the tip of my tongue, earning another loud moan and a shiver that runs through him this time. I lower my eyes to concentrate on the task at hand when his head falls back. I take him as deep as he will go and I'm glad that I don't have a gag reflex.

"Fuck, Ana… that is so deep… you are… amazing," he says between moans and I pull out slowly, letting my teeth gently scrape against his soft skin. One hand leaves the wall and he lowers it to my head. He pushes his fingers into my wet hair and pulls almost to the point of pain. Where I expect pain to shoot through me, lust does and it shocks me. I don't like pain and punishment, yet when he inflicts just a hint of pain, it turns me on.

"Stop teasing and suck me, Ana." I go back down until his erection hits the back of my throat and starts to suck slowly but hard. For someone who's never done this before, I can't be too bad at it as he seems to like it. Yet, it feels as if he is holding back and I want him to lose a bit of that control he likes so much. I suck in my cheeks for him to feel the inside of my cheeks rubbing against him when I remember him saying that he will love skin-to-skin contact. All those late night conversations with Kate are actually paying off.

"Fuck Ana… just like that… just like that…" but his hold on my head increase and he keeps my head in place as he moves into my mouth slowly. I continue to suck and then he suddenly lets go of my head, but he doesn't pull out so I look up to see if I did something wrong. He cups my cheek, eyes filled with pure lust, "If you don't want me to come in your mouth, baby, you have to stop now."

I move my hand at the base of his erection, down to his balls and start to gently massage it, making a mental note to do some research on the male anatomy. I would love it if I could make him feel as good as he makes me feel. He moves his hand back into my hair, but don't try to stop me.

"Fuuuuck! Ana… oh fuck yes," I hear him say as the thick juices run down my throat. I lick him clean and release his erection with a loud pop and he holds a hand out to help me up. After being on my knees on the hard tiled shower floor, standing feels great. I take my middle finger and wipe a bit of his cum from the corner of my lip before putting my finger into my mouth. His eyes stay on me and I can see that he is still holding back.

If he is this passionate while holding on to that precious control of his, I can just imagine what it would be like to snap that control for a couple of minutes. I lean forward and put my hands in his hair, reaching up to trace my tongue around his lips. He puts his arms around me with one hand on my lower back and the other slips into my hair again. Even after that blow job, he still has an erection.

"Anastasia, would you mind going on birth control." He asks kissing up and down my neck. It's hard to concentrate right now. I should probably mention to him that I'm on the shot. "I want to feel you." He pulls me into him, his erection hard against my stomach, "I want you now, but I don't have a condom."

"Uhm… I'm not sure why I… aah…," I moan loudly as he bites down on my ear again. "oh… I wanted to say that… oh, fuck… I can't concentrate and I need to tell you…" his hand moves to one breast while he starts to kiss his way back up. "I'm on the shot," I finally get out and then my back hits the wall and he fills me to the hilt with himself. I scream out in pure ecstasy. There is nothing that feels as good as this. He fills me completely and without the condom, it feels even better than before. He is moving slowly in and out at first, but then he starts to move faster. I'm glad I waited this long. I'm glad I waited for him.

"More… please… harder," I beg, not recognising my own voice.

"Thank you… for giving me this," he pulls away from my lips to stare into my eyes as he push into me harder just like I asked. "You… are… mine… now." He says between thrusts.

I knew I was his when I asked him to make love to me… maybe even before that. When I don't respond, he tugs on my ear with his teeth, making me cry out again. Not due to the pain, but due to the sensation that shoots to all the right places, increasing the ache that was already overwhelming. "You are mine, Ana. Say it. Say that you are mine."

"Yes… I'm yours. Only yours." I say and I'm so close. I can feel this will be over soon, but I don't want it to end. I want to stay in here and on the edge as long as possible.

"Let go, baby. Come for me." I shatter into a million pieces. I feel it all the way to my spine and feet and I love this feeling… the feeling of falling over into a sea of ecstasy. I feel my virginal muscles contract and rub against him. He comes loudly with my name on his lips before falling to the ground and taking me with him.

Under the warm water, we sit in silence. He is still buried deep inside me and I drop my forehead to his. When he opens his eyes, I struggle to read the emotion I find there.

"I'm never going to get enough of you, Ana. I'm still inside you and I'm already thinking of where to take you next. There are so many things I want to do with you that I can't decide on what to do first. I also don't care at the same time. I would be happy to just spend time with you. But good fuck, this is the most amazing sex I've ever had and I want more," he says with a wicked smile and I grind down into him with my hands locked around his neck.

"I don't have anything to compare it to, but I can see what all the fuss is about. If it's like this for everyone, I can't imagine how anyone gets a descend night's sleep." I say shyly and move my head to fall onto his shoulder.

"It's not always like this. This was amazing." He says kind of distracted, like he is trying to figure out how to say something and doesn't know how to. After a minute of silence, he continues softly. "Ana, I was very serious earlier. I strongly believe in monogamy. There is no way in hell I share what's mine with anyone else and you are mine now, you said so yourself. I will try to make you happy. I will even take you on dates like a normal couple. But I have to ask you for faith and some patience." I look up into his serious eyes to show him that he has my full attention. "I've never done anything like this before and I will fuck up some times, but… just have faith in me and patience and I'm sure I will get there. I want you more than I've ever wanted anything in my life, Anastasia. Your mere presence has the ability to calm me, even though you also have the ability to drive me insane and make me absolutely livid. I'm sure I can make you happy, but if I invest in this, we have to go all in. I don't do anything without giving it my best, but then you can't leave me. John, my physiatrist, says that I should just go with it and enjoy it and I hope he is right. But… if I do something wrong or treat you in a way that you don't like… please, talk to me before you walk out. I couldn't even watch you leave earlier and now that you've given yourself to me…" he struggles to finish and I'm stunned again. That was some speech and I'm not sure how to respond, so I do what I think is best. I put my hands on his cheeks and kiss him gently before pulling away to look into his eyes again.

"Christian, all I want is to be happy. I feel safe with you. I feel sexy when you look at me and I'm happy when I can get you to smile. As long as you don't put a cane to my back or cheat, I will be here. But beating me and cheating are hard limits for me and I won't stand for either. Mom cheated on Ray and it took him years to get over it."

We slowly part and then he starts to wash my body. When he gets to my sex, I winch and he smile apologetically. After he finish washing my hair, I take the sponge and soap to wash his body, but he takes a huge step backwards with so much fear in his eyes that I almost feel my heart break and that's when I see them for the first time. I can't believe I haven't noticed them earlier.

There are burn marks all over his chest. I've seen enough cigarette burn marks in textbooks and photos to recognise one right in front of me. Who would do this to him? Did this happen as a child or a grown up? Deep down, I know the answer and between the water, I feel the tears streaming down my face for a small boy burned several times on his small chest. I lift my hands to show him my intention to wash his arms.

"I won't touch your chest, but you seem to be fine with your neck, shoulders and arms. Do you mind if I reciprocate?" I ask and he only nods. I start to wash slowly and he closes his eyes. I wash carefully in order to avoid even an accidental touch. When I'm done all the way to his feet, he turns but doesn't say a word. I feel more tears fall when I see the scars on his back.

"I'm sorry this was done to you, Christian." I say softly and could not keep the hurt out of my voice. He spins around and pulls me into a hug with my head on his chest. It seems it's just touch with hands that he has a problem with, but his body is still a bit tense, like he is in physical pain.

"Don't cry for me, Ana. It was a really, really long time ago." I pull away and he looks down at me, all traces of fear gone. "Don't cry for me, please. Just… spend time with me."

"I would love that." I say as we walk out of the shower which must have been the longest shower I've ever had.

He takes a big, soft white towel from a towel warmer and gently dries me before wrapping me in it. Then he takes another one and ties it around his waist. With water drops still on his upper body and arms, he looks hot and I can hardly believe that I just had sex with him… twice. I take one of the smaller towels and dry his hair first before drying my own.

Dressed in only his t-shirt, I watch him pull on pyjama bottoms. I bite my lip with wide eyes when I see how perfectly it hangs on his hips and he puts a finger under my chin to lift my head.

"Like what you see, Ms. Steele?" he asks with a smile that should be illegal.

"As if you don't know how good looking you are, Mr. Grey."

"It's just a face, baby."

"And body, and eyes and smile and…" I stop dead in my tracks when I see the evidence of my virginity. "Oh my god. I'm so sorry about… that." I say and point to the bed, unsure of what to do. Now I get the towels in the old movies when people just got married.

"Don't be. You have no idea what it does to me to see that. I'll go and get a clean sheet from the cupboard. Don't go anywhere." He says as he walks out of the room.

I remove the stained sheet and for some reason, fold it up neatly before placing it on the floor beside the bed. Christian returns with a clean sheet and I help him to put it on the bed. He looks as if he is concentrating really hard.

"Don't tell me you've never changed bed sheets before," I joke, but when he doesn't smile, I can feel my eyes go wide. I don't think that I've ever met anyone that hasn't changed sheets before.

"I never had to before. This is another first for me. It seems this day is filled with them just like the other night." He says as we finish making up the bed.

"For what it's worth, you really did a good job." I say as we get into bed. I know I should probably go home, but then again… Kate is definitely too busy to be concerned about me right now and well, spending the night next to Christian is just too good to pass up.

Christian turns me around and pulls me towards him until I feel my back pressed against his chest. He seems tense at first and then starts to relax. I smile when I feel him press a soft kiss against my head.

I'm in bed… with Christian Grey… and we just had sex… twice.

The intimacy of the moment actually scares me. Surely it's not normal to feel this comfortable with a man you hardly know. When I feel his arm creep under my shirt and his hand comes to rest between my breasts, I stiffen. I'm not sure why, but this just feels… too intimate, but so right at the same time.

"Do you mind?" he asks softly, unsure of my reaction.

"No, it just took me by surprise. I've never shared a bed with anyone before, except for the other night when I was passed out and on the rare occasion, a heartbroken Kate."

"That makes me really happy. Sleep now, baby." He answers and holds me closer. I fall asleep wrapped in his arms and I feel safe and wanted.

**Christian POV:**

_What. The. Fuck is happening to me? _

As I hold a sleeping Ana in my arms, I go through the list of things that happened to me tonight to ensure that I have the full list for Flynn to analyze when I call him in the morning. _Ana_lyze… how appropriate.

I basically threw Ana out of my apartment when she told me that she was a virgin and then went after her forty minutes later. I made love to her in my bed before I fucked her in my shower. I talked to her about my feelings and now I'm going to sleep next to her… in my bed. None of this is how I operate, what I'm comfortable with or what I allow, but for some reason, it doesn't bother me as much as it should.

It feels strange, to hold someone this close to me, but it also feels good to know that it is Anastasia. At first I felt a dull ache at the direct contact, but not as much as it would be if she were to touch my chest with her hands.

I was serious when I told her that I would never get enough of her. I've never had vanilla sex before, but nothing I've ever experienced comes even close to what it felt like with Ana. The only thing close to making love to her and taking her virginity, was fucking her without the barrier of a condom. When she told me that she was on the shot, I couldn't control myself. I wanted to get inside her as quick as possible and feel her silky, hot and wet skin against my dick and I couldn't get deep enough. As hard as I fucked her, I just couldn't get as deep as I wanted to be… as I needed to be. When she winched, I had to hide my smile and look apologetic. The truth is that I like knowing that she will remember where I've been tomorrow.

I hear a message on my phone and turn just enough to grab it from the nightstand.

'_I don't know what the hell you did to make Ana that upset, but I hope you fixed it. I like Kate and I don't want to fight with her because I'm standing up for you.'_ I snort at the text from Elliot and type a quick reply.

'_You like anyone that doesn't have a dick.'_ I hit send and wait for his reply. Another first for me, I don't chat with anyone via text and I don't wait for a response. If you want to say something to me, call me and say what you have to say. Texting back and forth is a complete waste of time for me if you are able to have the ten text conversation in less than two minutes. Somehow, I prefer the texting. For one thing, I don't want to wake up Ana and I also don't want to leave the room to have a conversation with Elliot over the phone right now.

'_This is different, Christian. I can see this easily being my longest relationship yet.'_ I snort again… really?

'_So, we're looking at… what? Five dates?'_ I reply and wait yet again.

'_Make jokes all you want, but just wait until you're fighting with Ana when you're standing up for me that did something stupid.'_ I put the phone over Ana's face to see it under the poor lightning of the phone, but she still looks peaceful and beautiful. I can't imagine having another fight with her, but thinking back over the last couple of days, I'm sure the unimaginable will proof to be very easy indeed.

'_She's challenging. I don't think I need to wait long at all to have another fight with Ana. Not that I relish the thought of fighting with her, but she does look hot when she is pissed.'_ And I can't help but wonder if makeup sex is all that it's said to be. According to Elliot it is the absolute best, but I seriously doubt that there is any better to be had after tonight.

'_I have to agree with you there, bro. She looked hot when she stomped into the club after what must have been one hell of an argument with you.'_ Now this is why I don't like texting. How do put the phone down in the other person's ear if they pissed you off? Prepared to deal with waking up Ana, I hit dial and he answers immediately.

"Fuck off, Elliot." I end the call, put the phone on silent and fall asleep with Ana in my arms.

**A/N: Lunch with Elena in Chapter 11. Please review.**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: As always, thank you very much for the reviews.**

**I'm almost finished with the actual move. Thank you for your patience. I will be updating regularly again.**

_**Important: I do not own the Fifty Shades Trilogy or the characters. They belong to the very talented E.L. James.**_

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**Christian POV:**

Relaxed and refreshed. Definitely not two words I ever thought would be used to describe my state of mind. Yet, as I lay here with my eyes still closed, that is exactly how I feel after a peaceful nights' sleep. I'm afraid that if I open my eyes, I will discover that I'm dreaming and I do not want this moment to end. That is, until I remember the reason why I'm feeling so relaxed and refreshed. Lazily I stretch out and turn onto my back. Fuck, I haven't felt this good in… forever. If I had known that Anastasia was the key to getting a good night's sleep, I would have hunted her down years ago. Grinning like an idiot, I turn to face the reason for my current feeling of contentment. Finding an empty, cold bed, was definitely not what I was expecting. I sit up and look around the room to find it empty as well. My immediate thought is that she woke up feeling overwhelmed and ran.

I jump out of bed to look for her. In the hallway I stop to stare at the scene in front of me. Dressed in only my shirt from last night, she looks stunning. Her hair is again in a messy ponytail and she is dancing to the music from her phone while preparing what smells like a delicious breakfast. 'You've got me under my skin.' How appropriate since that is exactly where she has taken up residence… under my skin.

She takes a bite of whatever she is busy preparing for us and turns around with part of the fork still in her mouth. The sight before me goes straight to my dick, causing an instant throbbing erection. I have to remind myself that the woman in front of me was a virgin less than ten hours ago and we have already made love once and let's not forget the amazing shower sex. But then again, she did have time to recuperate.

Fuck, I have to stop thinking and reminding myself of anything relating to sex and Ana. I will gladly skip breakfast and feast on her. I wonder if she will be up for a morning quickie before breakfast. The breakfast counter or even the dining room table would suffice. I could bend her forward, hands on the…

"Are you planning on standing there all day?" I'm pulled from my inappropriate daydream by Ana who is walking up to me.

"It won't be a problem if you continue doing what you've been doing. I was just standing here and enjoying the show. By the way, nice song." I point to the iPhone on the breakfast counter, staying where I am with my shoulder against the wall and arms crossed. I need to get her further away from the kitchen, which incidentally also means closer to the bedroom.

"You know, I would have thought that you would at least have a docking station for my iPod, but had to settle for listening to the music on my phone since I don't know how your sound system works." Oh yes, the docking station.

"I had a docking station until very recently. It had an encounter with the floor and the floor won. Taylor will get it replaced tomorrow. What's for breakfast?" I ask, but with her practically naked, bare feet and three feet away now, there is no way either of us are going back to the kitchen any time soon. Well, unless it's to fuck her on the kitchen counter or breakfast bar. In order to try and adjust the erection that is throbbing and bordering almost painful, I push of the wall.

"I hope you like pancakes with bacon, peppers, onion and cheese." Finally within arm's reach, I pull her into my arms.

I'm momentarily shocked by just how right this feels. In order to get rid of the feelings that I'm not familiar with, I move onto what I do know… seduction. I pull my shirt to the left and start kissing her from her shoulder, up the side of her neck and to her ear.

"Is anything still on the stove?" It would take about two minutes to take it off and switch off the stove, but I really have other plans.

"No… but breakfast… is… getting cold." I bet I could make her forget about breakfast in three more kisses. First one in her neck and she moans softly. Second one behind her ear and she pushes into me with her hands around my neck. Third one lightly on the lips to keep her wanting more and when she pulls at my hair, I smile in victory.

"Kitchen or bedroom, baby?" I ask against her lips, but don't give her time to actually give me an answer. The question was merely out of courtesy anyway.

I move my hands down to her ass and bend slightly to pick her up. When she wraps her legs around my waist I almost lose all self control. With her feminine heat on my stomach, her hands in my hair, my hands on her naked ass and my tongue in her mouth, I all but run to the bedroom and throw her on the bed. Her hands immediately goes to the hem of my shirt and tries to pull it down to cover herself, but I grab her by the wrist and put both her hands above her head, making the shirt move up even more.

"Don't try and hide from me, baby. You are perfect and have nothing to be self conscious about." I say with a quick kiss on her lips.

I lift the shirt over her head and kiss my way down, taking one nipple into my mouth. I've removed my hands from hers, but she is keeping her hands above her head without me having to tell her. When my hand runs over her other breast and across her stomach to her sex, I wonder what it would feel like for her to touch me, but push that thought right out of my mind immediately. That is one thing that is definitely out of the question and never going to happen. Reaching her sex, I find her wet and ready for me.

"You are already wet for me, Anastasia. I like that a lot. I like that I have this effect on you." I slip one finger through her folds and she starts to squirm beneath me. I move to the other nipple and wish that I had clamps to enhance the pleasure for her, but that will have to wait until she is comfortable with more than vanilla. Even if vanilla is all I will have with Ana, it will be enough for me.

"Christian… please…" she pleads and starts to push down onto my hand. Last night I wished I could watch her fuck my hand, but I was afraid of breaking through the proof of her innocence.

I insert another finger and bend them to rub against the front wall of her sex. She pushes harder into my hand, her own now gripping onto the sheet. She bites down on her lip and closes her eyes before climaxing. Apart from her muscles contracting, that's her tell that she's about to come. I absolutely love how responsive she is. Normally I would show her how to control her orgasms, but I don't think I will. I love how quickly I can get her to climax.

Before she has time to come down from her climax, I thrust into her and immediately feel at home. This young woman, that I didn't even know exited ten days ago, centres me. She makes me feel strong and weak at the same time. Most importantly, she gives me hope. Hope for something more. Hope for more than a successful business.

Thirty minutes later, we are showered and dressed, finally ready for breakfast. Taylor brought in the new outfit for Anastasia while she was drying her hair, which she very reluctantly accepted. The dark blue jeans, with light blue top bring out the colour of her eyes. With a flinch, Anastasia sits next to me after reheating out breakfast. I fight the urge to smile as she will not join in my joy of knowing that she can feel where I've been.

"I will have to get going soon," she says softly, my fork stopping mid air to look at her. "I have a lunch date with Elena and I also need to see my dad. Afterwards I will have to go to our apartment to get ready for dinner tonight." Her forks drops to her plate in order for her palm to smack her forehead. "Sorry, I should have asked you first. Will it be okay if I still go with Kate for dinner tonight? I never did get to decline the invitation," she carries on nervously and I put down my fork. Right now, lunch with Elena is the least of my concerns.

"Will it be okay if you go with Kate to dinner tonight? No, Ana. It won't be okay. I thought that after last night, you were going to go to dinner with me." I was under the impression that we settled this last night, but apparently I was under the wrong impression.

"Christian, I don't want you to feel obligated to take me with you. This is new for you and I don't want to overwhelm you. I don't mind going with Kate." I take a calming breath and try to sound as calm as possible.

"Thank you, but I would like for you to accompany me to dinner tonight, Ana. We are together and I would like to spend more time with you before you go back to Portland tomorrow. I won't see you for a week." I say, proud of myself for sounding genuinely reasonable. In the back of my mind, I think of how different this would be if Ana was my sub before I could stop myself. Even though I would be able to tell her what I want her to do and she would it without even the slightest hesitation, I don't want that for her and also, if she was a sub, we won't even be having this conversation as no sub ever got the privilege of meeting my family. "I can pick you up from your apartment and drop you again tomorrow morning on my way to work." One more night before a week alone does not sound good at all, but it's better than nothing.

"Of course I will go with you, but I can't stay over here tonight, Christian. We have to leave very early tomorrow morning to get everything done in time before I have to submit my assignment." This conversation is not going the way I thought it would.

"Ana, I would really like to be with you tonight. A week, Ana." I say, unable to keep the whiny tone out of my voice and quite frankly, I don't care.

"You are welcome to stay at our apartment. It's not much at the moment and a lot of boxes are still over the place, but we do have some furniture in the living room and bedrooms, so it's not unliveable."

"I don't care about the apartment, Ana. I simply care about spending time with you before you leave." With a smile from her, we continue our breakfast discussing the rest of our plans for the day. Elliot has been bugging me from early this morning to go for a round of golf or at least to the driving range.

**Ana POV:**

Three hours later I walk into the restaurant to find Elena already waiting for me. She is shockingly not dressed in black. She is dressed in a beige pants suit with light make up and her sleek bob immaculate like the previous times I saw her. When I get to the table, she picked up on my shock and looks shyly down at her outfit.

"Hello Elena. You look stunning. The colour definitely suits you." I say with a kiss to her cheek before taking my seat, proud of myself for managing to do it without a cringe. I won't lie and say that I'm not sore down there, but it's not as sore as it was early this morning.

"Ana, nice to see you. They say a change is as good as a holiday and since I don't have time for a holiday right now, a change seemed like the next best thing. How are you?" she asks, sounding genuinely interested in my well being.

"I'm great actually. This week was certainly very interesting, as was the weekend. I was just telling Kate that I need a very quiet and drama free week in order to recover. For someone who does not live a very exciting or drama filled life, I'm exhausted with the recent events. But at the same time, I'm happy." I tell her, still hoping for a quiet weekend even though I'm thrilled with how things worked out for me.

"Not everyone loves drama and excitement. Did you go to the club last night like you planned?" she asks while we look at the menu. Before I could answer, the waiter arrives and we order drinks. When he leaves, I already decided what I will have for lunch and place the menu to the side.

"Actually, there was a huge and unexpected change in plans. It turned out that I needed to be a member to gain access. Even after I found a member to go with me though, it didn't work out. Not that I'm complaining. I had a lovely evening. My assignment is already done and since it was merely out of curiosity, it doesn't really affect anything." And there is no way that a visit to that club would have been better than the evening I ended up having.

"Christian mentioned yesterday at lunch that he spend some time with you in Portland during the week." She says carefully and I shift in my seat, but it has nothing to do with the tenderness of my lady parts. Discussing Christian with anyone other than my friends makes me feel uncomfortable. He also specifically asked me not to discuss our relationship with other people. Noticing my response she quickly puts my mind at ease, "I don't want to make you uncomfortable, Ana. I simply wanted to mention that it's very unlike him to invest this much time and effort into anything other than work. I also don't want to discuss Christian behind his back, he is a very private person and I know how much he values his privacy, but I need you to know one thing. You bring out emotions in him that he's never felt before and that is great, but I'm concerned about the repercussions should this not work out. You are both new at dating and I'm sure that you realize that dating a man like Christian will be very intense. He is not your average guy next door, Ana. Being with Christian means no privacy, constant paparazzi presence and close personal security. Your life will change the minute the press gets wind of your relationship. Please do not take this the wrong way. I'm not saying this to scare you off, Ana. I'm saying this to prepare you for what's to come. If you feel up to the challenge, you have the opportunity to get to know Christian and probably have a positive effect on his life. But you have to be sure that you will be able to handle what comes with being part of his life. Don't start something that can be heartbreaking in the long run should you decide that his life is not for you. I don't want to see either of you getting hurt." I'm stunned and unsure of how to answer. After a couple of seconds of silence, I pull myself together and respond honestly.

"Elena, I don't feel comfortable discussing my relationship with Christian, but I will tell you this. I know that people see him as a young man that is successful in business and managed to become very successful at a very young age, but that's not what I see. I see a man that has been hurt very badly early in his life. I see a man that has lived a closed off life and refuses to let anyone get close to him. Apart from work and contractual relationships, he has nothing to look forward to. He has a breathtakingly beautiful smile, that is far too rare and it's a damn shame. He makes me feel safe and happy. I'm not expecting a ring and a white dress, I just want to be happy and make him happy as well." I don't want to betray his trust by discussing our relationship, for lack of a better word, but I do want her to understand.

"Protect your heart, Anastasia. Be happy and make him happy, but protect your heart." The waiter, with the worst timing in the world, arrives with our drinks and we place our lunch order. When he leaves, I take a couple of seconds to observe Elena before I broach the topic that has been on my mind since we met.

"Who broke your heart, Elena? Someone must have really betrayed you to make you this cynical when it comes to love and relationships." Judging by the various emotions flashing on her face, she is at war with herself, trying to decide whether to tell me or deny it. I can tell the minute she decides to tell me as the look on her face is sad and defeated.

"It was long ago, Ana. I was very young, naïve and trusting. Like all young girls in love, I thought that he was the one. Everyone thought that we would get married. My parents loved and adored him. That's until he pulled the rug out from under me and shattered my heart. He broke my spirit and ruined my life. I thought that I was coping with what he did to me, but I'm not. The physical scars could not be seen days after that night, but the emotional scars never healed. I started to look for him a couple of years ago and soon I will have his whereabouts. I don't know what to do when I finally know where to find him, but I do know that I cannot go on without facing what happened. I have a lot of sins of my own to pay for, but my life would have been very different if not for him. I'm not making excuses for my actions, but he has to take responsibility for his part in how my life turned out." She finally stops and a single tear falls down her cheek before she could catch it. Knowing that this is a no-nonsense, hard woman that rarely shows any emotion, my heart is bleeding for her. "I'm not a good person, Ana. I've done things in my life that I've recently started to regret. I can try to reason that what I did was to help others, but in the end, it was really to make myself feel better over what happened to me. I don't know how to make things better. How do you change your life when you're halfway through it already? How do you say sorry when you know that sorry change absolutely nothing?" She shakes her head and pats my hand, "But enough about that depressing story, tell me about your plans for the week. I know your graduation is on Thursday." Talk about a change in topic.

"Uhm… yes. I submit my assignment tomorrow. On Wednesday, Kate and I promised our friend Jose to pose for a couple of casual shots to test his new camera that his dad bought for him. On Thursday we have our graduation and on Friday we will be moving to Seattle. It's kind of a hectic week filled with mixed emotions. We are excited to finally move to Seattle, but sad to leave Portland. Maya will be moving into the apartment with me and Kate. Jose is staying in Portland to pursue a career as a photographer and after we graduate, he will also be able to teach photography. Jackson will also be moving to Seattle, but he will move back home. There might be something going on between him and Maya, but they haven't said anything yet." I stop talking the minute that I realize that I'm telling her stuff that she definitely has no interest in, but she is listening attentively.

"You studied to become a Social Worker, what about your friends?" she asks, taking another sip of her wine.

"Kate studied to be a reporter. She will be taking a vacation first and will start working when she gets back. Her father is the CEO of Kavanagh media so finding a job won't be a problem for her. Maya wants to go into public relations. That girl has the ability to make you look at crap and see it as gold. She can spin any story to make it come across the way she wants it. She applied for a couple of intern positions, but has not heard anything yet. Jose, like I said, he is a photographer and will pursue a career in Portland. And finally there is Jackson. He is two years older than the rest of us. He just completed his degree and will start as an architect at his father's company here in Seattle next week. Although he would prefer not to work for his dad, at the moment he doesn't really have a choice." I explain in short what makes up our close circle of friends, signalling for the waiter to come and take our lunch order.

After the heavy breakfast, that my poor system is not used to, I order the Rory salad and Elena decides to join me. Twenty minutes later the salad arrives and just as I thought, it is delicious. The chicken is tender and the bacon nice and crispy. It's placed on top of lettuce, tomato and avocado and topped with grated cheddar cheese. I'm will definitely come back for this salad.

When my phone vibrates on the table, I quickly grab it when I see Christian's name. I open the text and can't help but smile.

"**Are you done yet?"**

"_Not yet. Busy with my salad." _

I reply quickly, but don't even bother to put my phone down as I know he will send another text.

"I will understand if you need to go, Ana." Elena says and I look up from my salad.

"I'm sorry for being rude, but if I don't respond, I'm sure he will just call. And no, I don't need to go." I take another bite and point to my plate with my fork, "This is a really great salad."

"I have to agree with you. I'm not a big fan of meat in salads, but this combination somehow seems to work." Before I can respond, there is a new text from Christian.

"**Are you done yet?"** I frown, thinking that he might have accidently re-send his previous text.

"_You already asked me that."_ I reply and this time, his response is instant.

"**Yes, I did. I just didn't like your answer. I'm hoping for a different response this time."**

I smile, but put the phone aside to talk some more with Elena. Phones at the table are very rude and my mother did raise me better than that. Being done with our salads, the waiter clears the table and then serves us the cappuccino we ordered to complete our lunch.

"Anastasia, this was really a very nice and relaxing lunch. Thank you for inviting me. We should do it again." Elena says, taking me a bit by surprise. I thought that she accepted my invitation to be polite, but then I remember that she does not have many friends.

"Thank you for joining me. It was a nice lunch. How about we do it again next Saturday?"

After making plans for lunch next Saturday, I pay the bill and grab my phone and bag. I'm busy sending a text to Christian, hopefully the response he was looking for earlier, when I bump into someone outside the restaurant. I grab onto the person's arm in order to stop myself from falling, feeling the now-familiar spark at the same time that his phone beeps to signal the new text. Looking up, I can't help but smile.

"You were ignoring my text and I thought I would come and ensure that you were okay." He says, not looking all too happy right now. Is he angry because I failed to answer his text the second it was received? I stare at him and yes, I do believe that Mr. Grey is less than impressed with my lack of urgency towards his text and suddenly, I'm not all that happy to see him.

"_I've never done anything like this before and I will fuck up some times, but… just have faith in me and patience and I'm sure I will get there."_ His words from last night come back to me.

I bite my tongue and stop myself from snatching my hand away from his arm. I should however warn him that those words will not always be enough to stop me from putting him in his place in cases like this. I can just imagine the result should I ever be late for an appointment.

"I apologize for making you worry. It is rude to be on your phone when in company of others and since we were just about finished, I thought I would wait until I got out here. If you check your phone, you will see my response." I say remorsefully when ever fibre of my body wants to retaliate against the look in his eyes.

"Good. If you're finished, let's go." Go? Go where?

"Christian, weren't we going to meet up at my apartment at six?" I ask carefully. I don't want to make him any more upset than what he seems to be.

"We were and still are, but if you remember correctly, Taylor dropped you off and I thought it would be the gentlemanly thing to do to see you back to your apartment in order for you to get your car." He takes my hand and pulls me to follow him to his car. Definitely not one of his many SUV's. I actually like this one. It is a lot more suitable for his age, even though I do understand the need for the SUV's.

Before I could reach for the door handle on the passenger door, he spins me around and against the car. I try not to lean on it too much in order to avoid causing scratches to what must be a very expensive car.

"I'm sorry, Anastasia. I'm naturally inclined to jump to my own conclusions. When you didn't answer my text as quickly as the other's, I thought that Elena said something that made you not want to be with me anymore." He says with his forehead against mine and I can see the insecurity in his eyes. I know he is adopted, but I wonder if he had to deal with a lot of loss and rejection.

"I'm not really the kind of person to discuss my private life with anyone, but we did discuss our… relationship?... well, sort off." I say, completely ignoring the part where Elena has damning information on him. Information that he seems to think will make me push him out of my life.

"Relationship? Sort of?" He frowns and pulls away. "I was under the impression that we were together and that would constitute a relationship. Granted, I'm new at this, but that is what I thought. Are you not sure that you want a relationship with me?" the insecurity is now being overshadowed with hurt and I reach up to put my hand on his cheek. He immediately relaxes and places his hand over mine.

"I'm sorry if I made it sound as if I didn't want a relationship with you, because I do. The sort of part was not for the relationship part, it was for the discussion part. We sort of discussed our relationship." I explain and he opens the door for me. Apparently the conversation is over.

"So, our relationship was sort discussed at lunch. What part exactly?" Christian asks as he pulls out of the parking area.

"Elena simply explained that she does not want to see either of us getting hurt. That a relationship with you will come with various complications and inconveniences like a loss of privacy. She said that if I'm not prepared to accept that as part of a life with you, that I should not drag this out." I see his hands gripping the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles are turning white and I'm scared he will break the steering wheel. "But, she said that if I'm prepared to accept what comes with being in your life, that I will get the opportunity to get to know you and bring something positive into your life. She mentioned that it's not like you to invest this much time and energy into anything other than work." I give him the basics of what she said and at least his grip has started to relax.

"And what did you say to that?" he asks, not taking his eyes of the road.

"I explained to her that I'm not comfortable discussing my relationship with you with anyone else, but I did tell her that I just want to be happy and I would like to see you happy as well." I give him some time to process this and then decide to lighten the mood. "I also said that you have a beautiful smile that is too rare. I like to see you smiling." My reward is a sincere smile. One hand comes down to take my hand from my lap and rest it on his thigh. We drive in silence for about a block. My hand on his thigh, covered by his own, intimate and comfortable. That is until everything suddenly hits me.

_Holy freaking cow… I'm in a relationship_. I'm in a relationship and it's with Christian Grey.

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**A/N: Please review if you have a moment.**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Thank you to the readers that haven't given up on me yet. Life is getting in the way a lot these days. **

**To the new followers, welcome!**

**Apologies in advance for editing errors.**

_**Important: I do not own the Fifty Shades Trilogy or the characters. They belong to the very talented E.L. James.**_

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**Ana POV:**

_Holy freaking cow… I'm in a relationship_. I'm in a relationship and it's with Christian Grey.

Christian picks up on my mood, but time for intense, lengthy discussions is over. We've reached my apartment and even after he shuts off the car, neither of us makes any move to get out. I turn at the same time he does, but he starts speaking first.

"Eventually, when you know all there is to know about me, you will leave me." I open my mouth to argue, but he shuts me up with a finger over my lips. "I know this. It's simply not possible for you to want a relationship with me after you know all there is to know about me. But, I don't want it to be soon. I feel alive for the first time in my life and I like this feeling. I accept that eventually you will leave, but not now. For that reason, I really need to ask you to do something for me." I nod, with his fingers still covering my lips. "Don't discuss us with anyone other than your friends and even with that I'm not completely comfortable. Not even my brother and especially not Elena. Also, if there is something about me that you want to know, I would appreciate it if you can ask me directly and no one else. I don't want someone to tell you their version of the truth. I will be honest with you when there is something that you need to know." He suddenly looks sad again and has to look down before looking into my eyes again. "I know you like to have as much information as possible, but knowledge, in this case, is a bad thing and I really like the idea of having you in my life. For now, let's just be together. That being said, I will never lie to you. I will always try my best to be as honest with you as possible." When he takes his finger from my mouth, I grab his hand and hold it tightly in both of mine.

"Christian, I won't discuss our relationship with Elena, but I must say that I did not get the feeling that Elena will deliberately try and ruin what we have. She cares about you and is trying to protect you." I explain, but the tension does not leave his eyes or shoulders.

"I don't think she will try and ruin my relationship with you, but I'm scared that she will unintentionally reveal something about my past that I would have preferred to tell you myself and try to explain… at the right time." I see and I also don't, if that even makes sense.

"I will avoid discussing you with her at all." He starts to relax, but is not quite there yet.

In order to get him to relax, I do the only thing I can think of and fall into his arms with my arms around his neck and my lips on his. It takes a fraction of a second for him to catch up with me. But when he does… _oh boy_… this man can kiss.

Our tongues are doing a passionate dance, but it's when he bites down on my lip that I feel the damp forming in my panties. I should have invited him up to have this conversation in my room as we could be having this make out session on my bed.

When he pulls away, I moan softly. I don't want him to stop. In fact, I want him to take me upstairs and show me again who I belong to… as he puts it. Not that I feel comfortable being referred to like I'm a possession. Then again, I won't mind having him as a possession. Available at a moment's notice for anything I can think off… A knock on his window interrupts the dirty thoughts running through my head and Christian is looking at me with narrowed eyes.

"I'm taking a rain check on whatever thoughts are running through your pretty head right now, baby." He says smugly and I raise my eyebrows as I reach for my bag.

"I have no idea what you are referring to, Mr. Grey." I argue and he pulls me closer to whisper against my lips.

"Your lip biting, lust filled eyes, erect nipples, and if my guess is correct, wet panties, says differently, Ms. Steele." I can feel the heat on my cheeks, so I must be as red as a tomato right now. "But if that's how you feel, I will see you at six and we can discuss this further when we get back later tonight." After a quick kiss to my forehead, I see Elliot walking around to my side of the car. I'll be damned if I'm going to be the only one turned on and frustrated.

"If you want, meet me at five and maybe we can discuss this first. You can remind me again that I'm yours before we have to leave." I jump out of the car before he has time to react, but his sharp intake of breath did not escape my notice.

When the elevator door opens, I feel someone push me inside from behind. With my front against the mirror wall of the elevator, I look into determined gray eyes.

**Christian POV:**

"If you want, meet me at five and maybe we can discuss this first." I like this sexy, teasing side of her. When she starts to get out, I want to drag her back and tell Elliot to get lost. I have a painful erection and all I have been thinking about for the last couple of hours was being inside her. She has become an obsession to me… an addiction. I cannot get enough of her or her sexy body that has the ability to provide more pleasure that I thought was even possible. "You can remind me again that I'm yours before we have to leave." I take a deep breath as she jumps out and stroll past a stunned Elliot.

Before Elliot recovers himself to close the door in order for us to leave, I jump out to storm after Ana.

"Wait here. I won't be long." I shout as I make my way to the elevator.

I'm relieved when I reach the elevator to discover that we will be the only occupants. I push her into the elevator and when it closes behind us, I press the emergency stop and pin her to the elevator wall. With her back pressed against me, we are both facing the mirrored wall.

My hand is already cupping her sex through her pants with my other hand under her shirt, massaging her nipple before pinching it with a bit more pressure than last night. With her hands pressed against the mirror and her head fallen back onto my shoulder, she push down onto my hand. My painful erection is now just about to combust and I press it into her back for some relieve.

"You belong to me, Ana. Never forget that." I say through clenched teeth, trying desperately to regain some measure of the control that seems out of my reach at this very moment. When she don't respond, I put my palm over her clit and press harder while moving my hand around her to her other nipple. She moans loudly and I stare at the two of us in the mirror.

She is thoroughly turned on now and I cannot leave her like this. I could stare at her in this state for the rest of my life. She is so fucking hot and unbelievably sexy like this.

"I need…" she starts, but stops when my hand leaves her breast to loosen her pants. "We can't… not here…" she argues, but there is no time now to move to another location. She needs to come now and I really need to fuck her soon, but that will have to wait until later.

"Shh, baby. I've got you." I whisper into her ear just as I slip two fingers through her wet folds into her hot sex. This will definitely not take long at all. I wonder for how long she will be this responsive to my touch.

To my utter surprise and also immense joy, before I have time to move my fingers in and out of her, she starts to push down into my hand and then back up again. When only my finger tips are still inside her, she pushes back down and up again. Moaning loudly.

I've never, in my entire life, seen anything so erotic. I know it's because she just affects me on a level that even John can't explain, but I don't care. I feel her muscles starting to contract and I grab her chin in my other hand in order for her to face the mirrored wall.

"Look at us, Ana. See how good I make you feel. I'm the only one… no one else." I tell her and she looks at our reflection in front of her. I sound like a possessive Neanderthal, but I don't care. I'm essentially a selfish person and I want everything she is willing to give me. The mere thought of her with anyone else, and there has been a couple since I met her, is enough to drive me insane.

"Only you." She whimpers and starts move with more deliberate movements.

"You like that, baby." She nods with another loud moan. "I like seeing you like this." When her one hand leaves the mirror to reach back and grab onto my hair, teeth biting down on her lip, I know she is seconds away from coming. I almost come in my pants at the mere sight of her. "You are so fucking beautiful, baby." I whisper close to her ear and add another finger just as she starts to climax.

Twenty minutes after I jumped out of my car, I stroll back to it to see a smug Elliot leaning casually against the passenger side of my car.

"Seriously? You couldn't wait a couple of hours?" he asks. I give him a smile and put on my sun glasses as I get back into my car.

"I have no idea what you are talking about. I wanted to see Ana safely to her door and also give her a goodbye kiss. I was simply being a gentleman." I defend myself and start the car before Elliot is properly inside.

"It's 2012 Christian, most buildings have cameras in elevators these days. Not that I'm saying you did anything. Just reminding you."

"Not this one."

"You can't be sure of that. All I'm saying is that elevators are not the best place to make out anymore."

"I can assure you that we did not make out in the elevator," getting her off is a lot different from making out. "Also, I know for a fact that this building do not have cameras in the elevator at the moment, but it will on Monday." That was the soonest that the building management agreed to increase the security. It did take a bit of persuasion and a threat of what is to come their way if anything happens to Anastasia or Kate. Kate might not be my favourite person and I'm sure the feeling is mutual, but she is important to Ana and Elliot and therefore her safety is important.

"Oh, you must be fucking kidding me! You cannot be serious, Christian. You've known this woman for five seconds and already you are invading her privacy from every possible angle?" He asks shocked, as if any of this comes as a surprise. When I continue driving to the golf course without so much as a glance in his direction, he shakes his head. "You are just fucking unbelievable. You have more money than brains." He goes on, mostly to himself before he looks at me again. "She could have told you to fuck off this weekend, which she did from what I could see last night. Yet, you still went ahead and got their building to increase security? Did you do a background check on her as well?"

"Yes. And for the record, even if she turned me down, I would have asked Taylor to check out the security. You seem to forget that the added security will also be beneficial for Kate." When he says nothing, I give him the truth. "I need her to be safe and protected, Eliot. You know that I don't open up to just anyone, but she is different. Nothing can happen to her."

"At least it will be entertaining… you know… you trying to control her, she refusing to be controlled. I will however warn you that overstepping the boundaries and invading her privacy are not going to work in your favour, little brother. I know that this is your first girlfriend, but girls go crazy over shit like that." Only if they find out.

**Ana POV:**

"What about this one, Ana? Christian will not be able to keep his hands of you." Maya says and I turn around to see her holding a white set of lingerie in her hands. It really is beautiful, but I don't want something white.

"It looks very nice." I say, walking over to take it from her. Even the lace is supper soft. The thong is… well, barely there. It's actually a shame to pay this ridiculous amount of money for so little material, but then again, I'm sure Christian would like it.

"Ana, do you feel like being a bit adventurous tonight? I mean, I'm sure that now that your cherry is popped, your naughty side can be set free." Oh fuck, she did not just say that out loud. When the sales lady looks me up and down, I take it I'm not the only one that heard it.

"Maya! I don't think my dad heard you at the other side of Seattle."

"I see that losing your virginity made you cranky. But as I was saying, you should set free your naughty side." When I frown, she holds up something that I'm not even sure what it is. I've always been a plain Jane and that's more… well… Kate.

"Maya, Ana won't go for something like that." Kate says, walking over to take the underwear, if it can be called that, from Maya. "It's a bit too adventurous for her and not for the faint hearted. We wouldn't want poor Christian to get a heart attack. Elliot mentioned that he does not really date and they have never even seen him with a woman. They thought that he might be gay. He was most like also a virgin until last night. We should start the two of them off with something more conservative." If only she knew. Maya snatches the outfit out of Kate's hands and holds it for me to have a closer look.

"Kate, that's just bullshit and you know it. That man screams sex and I'm sure he knows a million ways to make a girl forget about all the shit that comes with getting into his bed. When do the two of you even have time to gossip with Elliot's tongue permanently in your mouth?" She scolds Kate, who couldn't be more wrong, before turning back to me. "Ana, this is a crotchless garter thong. It gets amazing results, especially if you are at a dinner party and your man knows what is under your dress. That's of course, if you are brave enough to dress in something like this. I personally don't see the problem, it's not like anyone would see it." She wiggles her brows and I grab the outfit from her.

The top is a corset with the thong that is like Maya said…crotchless. After selecting thigh high black stockings to go with the black thong, I take a matching black bra as well for when I want to wear the thong without the corset. I like the blue ribbons. It makes the slutty outfit a bit more girly. Shit, I will be blushing the entire evening.

"How is Ray doing anyway? You weren't gone very long." Well, that's because he was, as always, on his way out to make sure his staff are doing their job. He really needs a woman in his life. Being on his own has turned him into a workaholic.

"He had other things that he needed to do. We did make a lunch date for next week Sunday. I thought it would be the ideal time to introduce him to Christian if he will be able to go with me. Anyway, we will need to get going if we still want to get wine on our way home."

Christian and Elliot are running late and will be here in time to pick us up before six. That ruined my plan to get some private time with Christian before we go to his parent's house. I think it's only fair if I give him a little taste of what he has missed. I was really looking forward to seeing him alone for a few minutes before going to meet is parents.

I'm nervous about my choice of outfit for dinner. I carefully place my black wrap dress on the bed and start to finish my hair and make-up. After a soft knock on my bedroom door, it opens to reveal a very hot Christian. With a pair of jeans, black boots, white button shirt and a black blazer, he looks like a model. His timing is perfect as my hair and make-up are done and I was about to put on my dress.

"Hello. I hope I'm not interrupting." He says, closing the door and pulling me into his arms.

"Hello. I was about to put on my dress as we should be going. I'm sorry for running a bit…" I don't get to finish as the quick hello kiss, turns into something close to the elevator kiss of last night. Scared that he will find my little surprise sooner than planned, I pull away with one last kiss on his lips. "I would feel very uncomfortable if we arrive late for dinner with your parents." Christian takes a deep breath and turns around to walk to the door.

"Then I will have to wait in the living room. There is no way that we will get out of here soon if I have to sit here and watch you get dressed." Halfway out the door, he turns back. "But you should prepare yourself for when we get back here, Ms. Steele. I'm collecting on that rain check from earlier." And with that, he is gone, leaving me to get dressed as soon as possible before I change my mind.

I may look like a nice, sweet girl, but I feel like a slut sitting in Christian's car on our way to his parent's house. What the hell possessed me to dress with crotchless panties for a dinner at my new boyfriend's house? Oh yes, Kate wanting to get something more conservative.

"Ana, you look lovely and my parents will love you. Please will you relax." Christian says, putting one hand tenderly on my thigh.

"It's not really that, but thank you." Before he could ask what is wrong then, I decide to go for distraction, "Where is Taylor today?"

"He's driving behind Elliot and Kate. Elliot and I have been seen alone all day. With you and Kate now with us, I don't want to take any chances." What does that mean? Take chances with what? "Ana, don't look so worried. Taylor and his team work very hard to ensure my safety. I get several threats on a daily basis. Some threaten to hurt me, but most of these guys are simply out for an easy payday. Being who I am, there will always be some kind of security risk and for that reason, I have a highly paid and very competent security team. I'm fanatical about safety and security, but apart from a handful of incidents, there has never been real danger." He explains, but that does not really get me to relax.

"Wow, I can't even imagine what it is like living like that. Constantly on the edge and always surrounded with security… waiting for something to happen." I say mostly to myself and curse myself again for my brain-to-mouth filter that seems to be out of order again. He gets that sad, faraway look before turning his attention back on the road.

"I'm not really waiting for something to happen, Ana. I merely ensure that I, along with my staff, am prepared in case something does go wrong." At least he does not sound offended, but he sounds unhappy about what I just said. After a couple of seconds of intense silence, he finally breaks it, "I was wondering if you would mind if I attended your graduation on Thursday." If I'm completely honest with myself, I'm relieved that I would not have to wait until Saturday to see him, depending on his plans for next weekend of course.

"I would like that, but you don't have to if you have other things to do. I know that you are probably very busy." Not that I understand yet what he does.

"I'm the boss, Ana and I would like to join you on your special day." Is his immediate answer and I make a mental note to ask him to tell me about what he do for a living.

If he tried to distract me, he did a great job as I had no time to worry about the impending dinner or slutty underwear. When we enter the gate of a huge mansion, I realise that it's time… I'm about to meet his parents.

By the time we pull up to the house, I'm about to pass out. That is, until my door is snatched open by a vivacious and energetic woman with black hair and beautiful, big blue eyes.

"OMG. OMG! You're real and you're here. This is so awesome. I. Can't. Believe. It. Christian has a girlfriend." She screeches, jumping up and down with her hands in front of her mouth like she's about to pray.

"Yes, and now I probably have to find a new one as you just ruin her hearing and scared her off." Christian says when he reaches my door, standing next to who I'm guessing is Mia. "If you don't mind, can I help her out of the car?"

"Please excuse our daughter, Anastasia. She is not usually quite this loud. She has been jumping up and down since we got the news that…" Christian's mother starts before she is interrupted by Christian.

"Mom, Dad, this is Anastasia Steele. Ana, this is my father Carrick, my mother Grace and my sister Mia." Christian does the introductions, but it's not until his hand comes to rest on the small of my back that I completely relax. Elliot and Kate, who arrived to the door first, are standing behind the Grey's looking amused. I'm glad they think this is amusing.

"It's nice to meet all of you. I apologize for us being late." Since we are almost thirty minutes late, someone should at least offer an apology and neither Elliot nor Christian seems in a hurry to do it.

"Don't worry, Ana. We've been waiting twenty four years for this moment, a couple of minutes more did not hurt anyone." Grace says and I frown, looking up at Christian who simply shakes his bowed head.

"Grace, give the kids some room to walk into the house at least." Carrick says and stands to the side, dragging his wife with him after a quick hand shake with Christian and a hug for Elliot.

An hour later, Kate and I have looked at what feels like hundreds of pictures of Christian and Elliot growing up. The two bothers is direct opposites. Elliot is smiling in every photo. Christian somewhat smiles in some of them, but not a lot. He does not look unhappy, but he definitely does not look happy. When we get to the photos of them as teenagers, it is clear that Elliot is the player of the two. After the age of seventeen, he is very rarely in a picture without a girl and very rarely the same girl more than a couple of times as an adult. Judging by Kate's glare in Elliot's direction that fact did not escape her notice.

On the other hand there is Christian. Not one single photograph of him with a girl. Where Elliot looks carefree and happy, he looks pensive and withdrawn in most photos. There is also a definite shift in his appearance and attitude from about age sixteen. He seems more confident and his appearance seems more put together. When I catch Christian's eye and he frowns at me, I move my attention back to the conversation between Kate and Grace.

"When we come back from vacation, I will be starting at Kavanagh media. I preferred to work for another media house, but since my brother decided not to follow in my father's footsteps and one day take over from him; I don't really have a choice." Kate says and I can see that she is still unhappy about being forced to join Kavanagh media. The threat however to take away all the perks that goes with being a Kavanagh gave her little choice in the matter. She likes comfort and is not about to jeopardise it by insisting to find a job somewhere else.

"I tried to persuade all off my children to go into medicine and Carrick also tried to get one of them to go into law, but they all decided to go into different directions and they have all been successful," Grace says, looking every bit like the proud mother she has every right to be. "What are your plans for the future Ana?" Grace asks and I cringe internally. I know what I want to do, but I have nowhere to do it yet. When I take too long to answer, Kate steps in.

"Ana wants to be a social worker. She spent every available minute the last five years studying and will graduate top of her class on Thursday." To her credit, Grace hides her surprise very quickly. I wouldn't have even seen it if I wasn't looking directly at her. I guess I can see why she seems surprised. Social worker meets reclusive billionaire with intimacy issues, not to mention haphephobia.

"And what direction do you plan to go in, Ana?" Grace asks.

"Community development, welfare, child protection and case management. Psychotherapy is not my strong point. According to my professor I lack the ability to see the bad side of people and only focus on the good. So I decided to try and improve the quality of life and social well-being of others. Primarily focussing, but not limited to women and children." I tell her and she seems genuinely interested

"Have you found employment yet?" Everyone's attention is suddenly focussed on our conversation as Elliot and Mia returned from wherever they went and Christian and Carrick finished their discussion about a company that Christian wants to buy.

"I have applied at a couple of institutions and most looks promising, but I will unfortunately not get an offer until after graduation. In the meantime, we have to get through the next week, graduation and the move." I say in an attempt to get the focus off my current state of unemployment. I know it's not something to be ashamed about as I will only graduate this week, but in a room filled with successful people, I do feel ashamed. Grace looks at Christian who slightly nods at some unspoken question.

"Ana, Kate mentioned earlier that she will be taking a two week break to go on vacation with her family before starting work next month. Do you have any plans to take a vacation?" Carrick asks and Christian takes the opportunity to come and sit next to me when Grace gets up to put the photo boxes away.

"Yes, but only for a few days." I feel Christian stiffen next to me, but I ignore his reaction and continue, "I'm planning on visiting my mom next week in Georgia for about four days. She won't be able to attend the graduation due to a prior commitment and I haven't seen her since Christmas."

"What day will you be back?" Mia asks, looking from Grace to Christian, who is still as stiff as a board. I'm sure he can understand that the topic hasn't come up yet.

"I was thinking of leaving next week Monday afternoon or Tuesday early morning and I'll probably be back the following Friday morning." I say, taking a peek at Christian for the first time and as I thought, he looks unhappy.

"That's perfect then. You will be…" Mia continues, but is interrupted by Grace.

"Mia, please come help me put the food on the table. Everyone else can please make their way to the dining room."

Mia reluctantly follows her mother and Elliot and Kate follows Carrick. When I get up to follow as well, I'm held back by Christian.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asks in a hushed voice.

"Because I didn't think about it until your father asked me. It's only a few days." I explain, but he still looks unhappy. I sit back down next to him and turn to face him, "What exactly is the problem with me going away for a few days?" I ask and he seems to take forever before he finally responds.

"I won't be seeing you this week and then again the entire week after that. I will only be seeing you on weekends." He says and before I have time to figure out what that is supposed to mean, he leans closer and talks softer, "I used to only see my subs on weekends. I don't want to only see you on weekends." And my heart breaks for this poor man.

"Christian, why are there no photos of you with a girl?" I ask, genuinely curious. I mean, look at him. Even as a teenager he was very handsome.

"For the same reason that my family was so excited to meet you. I told you that I've never had a girlfriend before and that goes for dates too. I always attend corporate, as well as family functions on my own and only stay long enough in order to not be considered rude." He explains and I lean in to give him a kiss on the cheek.

"Hopefully not anymore." I say against his lips and I can feel him smile.

"Definitely not anymore. Come, everyone is waiting for us. But this discussion is not over."

**A/N: I promise to not make you wait this long again****.**


End file.
